As The World Falls Down
by Crazylunagirl
Summary: Naruto is just an ordinary boy, training to be a top-class ninja. But something happens along the way, releasing the memories sealed away in the back of his mind. What will he do with all this new knowledge? The beast stirs...
1. Chapter 1: Hold it Together

"speech"

**"super mega awesome demon speech"**

_'thoughts'_

**Synopsis: **Naruto is just an ordinary boy, training to be a top-class ninja. But something happens along the way, releasing the memories sealed away in the back of his mind. What will he do with all this new knowledge? The beast stirs...

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**This is my first story :D so its not amazing, but I hope you enjoy it anyway ^_^**

**Im not sure how many chapters I will do... we'll find out soon enough though  
**

**please review and everything, any tips are welcomed, thankyou**

**This story begins just before the graduation tests :)  
**

**I do not own Naruto**

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**Chapter 1**

It took the combined efforts of three neighbours in dressing-gowns hammering the door down to wake Naruto and quiet the alarm. Still half-asleep, bright blond hair sticking up in all directions, he blinked groggily at the small clock on his bedside.

Not a minute later, a blur of blond and orange sprinted down the street yelling, "AHHHHH! IM LATE AGAIN!"

Amazingly he managed to make it to class just in time. Adjusting his orange jacket which was hanging crookedly from one shoulder and removing the sock stuck to one leg, evidence of his rush to change that morning, he settled into his seat at the back of the room. Not a moment too soon too. His sensei, Iruka, chose at that moment to waltz into the room with an unusual glint in his eye.

"Quiet everyone, QUIET!" he barked, rapping his knuckles on the table to get their attention.

A hush fell on the room.

"I have some good news for you all."

_'Uh-oh'_, thought Naruto, '_this cant be good_.'

"Tomorrow is the all important.... graduation test!" Iruka looked around beaming at the mixed emotions shown on his students faces. Most looked excited. One had a look of horror.

_'Knew it_,' Naruto groaned, head hitting the desk in front of him with a thump.

The noise brought the dark haired boy next to him out of his doze. He have the blond a look of annoyance, then swept his gaze around the rest of the room. "Tch, how troublesome." He went back to sleep.

Iruka waited for the students to quiet down again before proceeding. "Therefore you have just one day to prepare. Remember, this is what decides whether you're fit to be real ninja! I hope to see each and every one of you as Konoha genin."

Naruto didnt listen to the rest. He'd retreated into his thoughts, which took a great deal of concentration, thinking was never something he did most of the time. A test! That was the last thing he needed. He hated tests. He hated tests more than school! Even... dare he say it... even more than cats!

This was a problem. He needed to pass that test, whatever it was, in order to become a ninja. His dream. Becoming a first-class ninja, maybe even Hokage!, had always been his top priority. To think it all hung on the result of this one test... it was nerve-racking. He chewed his lip, searching for some way out of this situation.

Still lost in his thoughts, Naruto didnt notice that class had been dismissed until he found Iruka's face inches from his nose, staring down at him.

"Theres no time to be spacing out now, Naruto," Iruka chastised, trying to hold back a smile. Naruto treated him to one of his signature grins, rubbing the back of his head in embaressment.

"Come on, I have some time off now, lets grab a bite to eat" said Iruka, placing a hand on the boys head in an affectionate way.

"Ramen?" he asked, suddenly eager.

"Alright, my treat," Iruka was used to his exceptional ramen demand. The boy could probably live off the stuff.

"Yeah! you're the best Iruka-sensei," said Naruto, leading the way to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

Along the way, Iruka couldnt help but notice the glares and sneers directed at his small companion and he felt his heart twist. The blond appeared not be paying attention, grin still in place, eager to get to his ramen. A sad smile played about Irukas mouth. It amazed him how the boy managed to maintain his happy, enthusiastic demeanor. He was so strong. No doubt anyone else would have broken a long time ago.

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Snapping the book shut, Naruto sighed with relief. He was finally finished for the day. He'd spent all the time left after saying goodbye to Iruka-sensei practising jutsu and pouring over the books and scrolls that littered the floor of his small apartment. It was late, almost one in the morning, he realised with a start. He needed to get some sleep before tomorrow if he was ever to do well in the test.

Kicking ramen boxes and scrolls out of the way, he located his pyjamas and headed for the bathroom.

He lingered for a little while, tracing the pattern of the mark on his stomach in the mirror. Iruka-sensei had told him it was just a birthmark, but not to touch it. It seemed too... well-designed to be a birthmark. The spiral was perfect and he could just make out what seemed like kanji, the mark was too faint to make them out clearly. Maybe he was just imagining it. A possibility.

Sometimes he thought he could hear it whispering. That was definately his imagination. There was no way that could happen. And yet... he felt as though a big part of him were missing. Hidden somewhere behind that mark, just out of reach.

He scratched at it absent-mindedly and yawned, before shrugging into his pyjamas and turning in for the night.

It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

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He awoke in plenty of time that morning. Feeling more refreshed after his shower, he shoveled the entire contents of a box of cereal into his mouth and drank half a carton of milk, shortly followed by leftover ramen from the night before. Most people would be astounded by his lack of manners and insane appetite, but Naruto had never been properly taught by anyone. He'd never had any parents to tell him not to drink directly from the carton. The only person close enough to be considered parent-like was Iruka, and he didnt have the time.

Today was especially important to Naruto, so he ate more than usual to build up his energy. Not that he really needed to, he never felt tired even after extensive training, but it was the principle that counted.

Glancing at the scrolls on the floor one last time, he took a deep breath and set off for the academy.

It was still early morning and yet there were many people already out and about. Naruto avoided them as much as possible, taking side roads and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He wanted to bypass any kind of confrontation that day, it would distract him and probably put him in a bad mood.

Naruto never let his bad moods show infront of other people. It wouldnt do to make them sad too. He had learnt early on that smiling had a positive effect on people and sitting with a permanent storm cloud over ones head certainly wasnt. If he was ever going to make a friend, it would be by making them smile.

As a result, all his bad emotions were stored deep down inside. All the hurt, hatred and sadness. Until he got home and could let some of it out. Many of his early years were spent like that; getting home and curling up in a corner to cry into his knees until he was too hungry to stay still. He was better at hiding them now, it had been a long time since he'd broken down in tears.

Tearing his mind away from those painful memories, he turned his attention back to where he was going, and just in time. He nearly collided with a pink haired girl about his own age.

"Sorry, sorry!" he said apologetically, hand rubbing the back of his head again in embaressment. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Geez! you're such a loser, watch where you're going!" she snarled, curling her hand into a fist which Naruto watched nervously from the corner of his eye. "Im going to be LATE now, and that Ino-pig will get to sit by MY Sasuke! This is all YOUR fault idiot!" Her face seemed to be turning an odd shade of magenta.

"Im really sorry Sakura-chan..." he gave her his best puppy dog look. It seemed to work, her face returned to a normal colour. Then with a flick of her hair, she turned on her heel without another word and marched off.

Sighing, he followed after her, keeping his distance so as not to attract her anger again. It was like this with most of his classmates, the ones who didnt ignore him anyway. They treated him like an idiot, which wasnt far from the truth, he mused. He did have a tendancy to lose concentration after about five minutes and seemed to fail at pretty much everything he tried to do.

_'Not this time though'_, he decided. This time he would definately pass the test, without fail. Determination etched into every fibre of his body, Naruto burst through the door of the Academy, ready for anything.

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The test turned out to be comprised of a written and practical exam. Every tick of the clock bore into Naruto's head, as he chewed furiously on the end of his pencil.

Ten minutes left to go. No questions answered. It was a nightmare.

Everybody else seemed to be scribbling away happily, except of course for Shikamaru, having finished within the first half hour and was now fast asleep.

Naruto needed to write _something, anything_. At least he would have tried.

_'Alright, question one. name one of the three famous eye techniques... ARGG I have no idea!'_ He searched anxiously through his brain, but the answer kept eluding him. It was as if everything he ever learnt was hidden away, like that part of him he felt was always missing. Frustrated, he glared angrily at the jet black hair of the boy sitting infront of him.

Even the hair was annoying. It stuck up weirdly at the back. Naruto wondered just what was so special about this Sasuke guy. _'Sasuke. Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha... sharingan_!' He was so happy that he had an answer for the first question, he didnt realise that time was up. Iruka yanked his paper away from him before his pencil had even touched it.

Looking up with his best kicked-dog expression, he tried to take it back. But Iruka knew Naruto's tricks and was well prepared for all kinds of canine looks, his grip was too strong and Naruto was forced to give up.

_'Lets hope the practical exam makes up for it then' _he thought dejectedly, his fingers crossed under the table.

Iruka moved up to the front of the class, a pile of papers in his arms which he set down on his desk with a loud BAP and made the announcement. "Each of you will be called up individually to perform a jutsu of the judges choosing in a seperate room. Ok? First up, Nara Shikamaru."

Shikamaru yawned and shuffled from the room with a carefree wave.

Iruka continued to read names from the list he held. Naruto tried taking deep breaths. He knew how to do jutsu. He would be fine, just as long as they didnt ask him to do clones. Eventually his name was called. "Uzumaki Naruto."

He almost tripped in his hurry as he reached the door. It would have been amusing another time.

The room he entered for the test was bare except for a single table with the three judges sat behind. He recognised one of them, another sensei, Mizuki, but he didnt know the other two. Mizuki raised his head from where it had been resting on his hand and said, "Okaaaay, Uzumaki-kun, lets see what you've got. Make at least two clones to pass."

Naruto's stomach must have hit the floor below. This was the most awful day he'd ever had. Mustering his courage he nodded and made the hand sign, concentrating on drawing his chakra.

**Bunshin no Jutsu!**

The room was filled with dense smoke. He waited nervously, praying hard that it had worked.

It hadnt. Naruto stared in horror at the barely recognisable clone of himself, in a jumbled heap on the floor.

The three judges sighed, a look passing between them that Naruto just couldnt miss. He held his breath, but didnt hope.

The next word had a clanging sound like the toll of a death bell, not helped at all by the loud stamp that accompanied it.

"FAILED."

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	2. Chapter 2: Birds of a Feather

**Chapter 2**

From his vantage point on the swings, Naruto could see each and every happy face that walked through that door. Smiling faces. Foreheads sporting shiny protectors that glinted in the sunlight as though mocking him.

He watched enviously as their parents embraced them, congratulating them, showering them with pride and affection. He felt like he was sat outside the world, looking in. Always left out of it all.

The whispering was the worst. Just loud enough for his ears to catch, he heard "look there, that's _the_ kid," "I heard he was the only one to fail," "that's good, we don't want trash like him as ninja," "I don't want him to influence my daughter, I told her to stay well away from him."

Not just that, almost everyone that saw him sitting there either smirked in a belittling way or just fully glared at him. It made him feel small and he unconsciously shrank into himself.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain as something hard hit his shoulder. He turned to see several younger children laughing and bending to pick up more rocks. Their parents looked on uncaringly and even with some amusement as they continued to throw them at him.

Only a couple hit their mark, but it was enough to force him to leave. He stalked off sullenly, hands in his pockets until the sounds were far behind him.

It was peaceful here, on top of the fourth Hokage's head that was carved into the cliff face. Nobody would come to disturb him here. He lay back, propping himself up on his elbows to watch the birds soaring overhead. '_Such a beautiful day' _he thought to himself, sighing and allowing a small smile to appear on his lips. The wind would wash away all his bad feelings, let him forget. Forget.

A sudden stronger gust of wind was all the warning he had. Strong hands grabbed him roughly and everything went dark.

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He couldn't see, his body felt so heavy he just couldn't move. There was the sensation of moving quickly, and then he lost consciousness again.

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This time he could just about open his eyes a crack. The world swam into misty focus. He was lying on his back, somewhere in a forest. He tried to sit up, but found his body refused to obey as though it was pinned down to the ground.

A figure towered over him, dressed in black and with a cat mask concealing its face. The uniform of an ANBU. It, (he?), bent down to look at him closely then looked up at his companion. "He's awake," he reported.

The ANBU's companion was stood just out of Naruto's sight. It irritated him that he couldn't even turn his head to see what the other guy looked like.

"Good, then let us begin," the other guy replied in a soft but authoritative, stepping closer. Naruto squinted to make him out, but the sun was behind him and all he could see was the guy's silhouette. He tried to open his mouth, but even that refused to move.

The ANBU moved away to give his companion space, perhaps joining other ANBU's? Naruto could hear several quiet footsteps.

Just then, the other guy made a great many hand signs in quick succession. So quick it was difficult to follow them, and without any warning at all, slammed his hand down on Naruto's stomach. Directly over the weird mark.

The pain was unbearable. Strange chakra enveloped his mark, doing _something_. He screamed in his mind, as his vocal chords refused to obey him too, but it was drowned out as a flood of memories came rushing in.

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He didn't know how long he lay there. His body ached everywhere and his head, oh his head. It was as if somebody had driven a bulldozer through it.

Groaning, he blinked his eyes open and surveyed his surroundings. The room was white and very clean, with just a simple table and bed in which he was lying. Somehow he had been taken to Konoha General Hospital.

He tried to think back to what happened, it seemed so long ago. He had no idea how much time had passed as he'd browsed his new memories in wonder. But they weren't new memories, he'd discovered. They were _his_. His old memories.

They had been sealed inside him, that was what the mark was, it was a seal! Iruka had lied to him, or perhaps he hadn't known. _No_, he thought, _he knew_. All the adults knew, and now so did he, that he was a monster. A demon. The greatest of demons in fact. He remembered tracking prey on four legs, remembered swinging his great tails and watching the humans die. It had been so much fun.

And then it was over. He had been sealed in this human form, his memories of his years as a demon fox locked away forever, or so they thought. An evil smile twisted his features.

But he didn't feel like a demon. He looked at his hands. Ordinary, twelve year old human boy's hands. He tried to imagine himself destroying the village, it seemed impossible. He could never unleash that much raw power again, only his memories had been released, his true form and power still sealed away.

A pigeon landed on the ledge just outside his window and proceeded to preen itself. Its freedom annoyed Naruto-kyuubi a great deal. How dare it mock him!

His stomach gave a loud gurgle as he glared at the bird and licked his lips. When had he last eaten? He didn't know.

Baring his teeth, he crept to the window and opened it slowly, so as not to disturb the pigeon.

Without a minutes hesitation, Naruto had the bird in his teeth. Its neck cracking as his jaws crushed it. Soon all that was left was a small pile of feathers and bones, which he hurriedly brushed under the bed.

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Later that day he got a visitor.

"Old geezer!" he exclaimed in surprise. Despite having all his previously lost memories returned, he was still Uzumaki Naruto to these people and so he should act accordingly. His signature grin lit up his face.

"Naruto-kun, what have I told you? Please refer to me with some respect in public," the Third Hokage sighed, he knew the boy would never change. Re-adjusting his hat, he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked him in the eye with a serious expression.

"Naruto, I am here to discuss what happened yesterday," he started. Only yesterday? Naruto was sure he'd been asleep much longer. But what exactly _had_ happened? Nothing was entirely clear to him; the old geezer would be somewhat disappointed.

"Yes, it is believed that due to your ill health you were unable to complete the test to the best of your ability," the third continued. '_Oh I see,' _thought Naruto, '_they think I was just sick or something, they don't know about what really happened.' _He waited for the Hokage to get to the point. "So I have spoken with the judges and they have agreed to let you retake the test."

Naruto blinked in astonishment. Retake the test? That would mean he still had a chance!

"Thank you old geezer! You're the best!" Naruto leapt from the bed and danced around the room. The Hokage chuckled at him.

"Well it seems you have gotten over the worst of your illness, the test shall begin at midday tomorrow, don't be late now," he said whilst getting to his feet with a groan.

"I won't! You can count on me," Naruto replied, still dancing.

The old geezer then waved goodbye and left, probably to do whatever it was that Hokage's do.

Naruto finally stopped dancing and investigated his feelings. It was odd to think that, despite everything these humans had done, all their mistreatment and sealing him and everything, he still didn't hold a grudge against them. It made no sense. He should be causing havoc and destroying the whole lot of them in his vengeance, and yet he preferred to please their leader and even become a ninja to protect them!

His inner turmoil caused him to feel hungry again. There was nothing left of the pigeon, so he ventured outside to look for ramen. Ramen was most certainly the food of the gods, he had decided. The hospital staff wouldn't care if he disappeared, in fact they would probably be happy to see him go, if they noticed at all. It was a similar story wherever he chose to go. Most restaurants wouldn't admit him, and shops charged him three times as much than regular people.

Not that money had been that much of a problem. He got a monthly grant from the Hokage and sometimes from Iruka if he asked nicely. It wasn't as if he bought much anyway, who needed that many clothes?

The Ichiraku Ramen Shop was different. "Naruto-kun! I'm so glad you're out of the hospital, I was really worried about our number one customer," smiled a pretty young girl as she placed a steaming bowl of ramen in front of him, "its on the house."

"Thanks Ayame-chan!" Naruto grinned happily and devoured the entire contents in less than a minute. Half an hour later, a pile of twenty or so empty bowls stood in a stack in front of him as he sat back and rubbed his belly.

"Mmm, delicious as always. Thanks Ayame-chan, Teuchi-kun! See ya," he waved as he set off for his apartment.

They watched him go, and then turned to each other. "Did he look... different to you?" Ayame asked her father. He shrugged and turned back to the noodles.

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That night Naruto dreamed.

He was running through the forest on all fours, his claws digging into the earth. He could smell the deer, almost as if it were right in front of his nose. Everything was in sharp focus; the bark on the trees as he flew past, each individual leaf on the branches, even the feathers of a hawk as it soared above him.

He soon caught up with the deer, his speed and powerful muscles no match for its spindly little legs. Then he leapt, claws extended, jaws open. His sharp fangs pierced through flesh...

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He awoke with a start. Something was different.

He felt good. Better than he'd ever felt before. He rolled out of bed and stared in shock at his hands. His fingernails had somehow taken on a major growth spurt during the night, they looked almost like claws. They _were_ claws. He ran to the mirror to see if anything else had happened. Nothing too obvious he was relieved to see. His ears had become slightly more pointed, his canine teeth a bit bigger and the whisker-like marks on his cheeks just that bit darker.

'_Just a side effect of the other day_,' he mused to himself.

He took his time getting up, eating breakfast. For some reason he had woken up before his alarm and he didn't even need to be anywhere until midday. He decided to review the scrolls and books again, but found that he really didn't need to. All the knowledge from before had come flooding back along with his memories.

Sighing happily, he spent the rest of the morning perfecting his chakra control. Surprisingly with the return of his memories had also come the ability to better control his chakra. He didn't understand it at all.

Soon it was time for the test. Again.

He blazed through the written exam with no problem, he could even recall some of the answers through personal experience. He'd been in quite a few battles as a demon.

The practical exam was still a problem. Though his chakra control was much better than before, it still wasn't brilliant compared to most people of his age.

He entered the room and found the same three judges as before. Mizuki smiled arrogantly. "Alright then Uzumaki-kun. Same as before, let's see some clones this time."

Naruto nodded and concentrated hard as he made the hand sign. The chakra he formed was different from what he usually had, but he paid no attention to that. The judges watched in surprise as it became visible, a deep red colour. What was the name of the jutsu he was supposed to use? He remembered something from his new memories. '_A battle against a ninja, who had used... ah! I remember now, that jutsu was...'_

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**

The room filled with smoke just as before, but when it cleared Naruto could clearly see the shocked expressions on the three judges' faces. No less than twenty perfect copies of Naruto stood in a line next to him, and they weren't just ordinary clones. They were shadow clones; actual physical copies of the real thing which could inflict damage on foes. But wasn't it a lost jutsu? How did he manage to do it.

The outcome of the test was unanimous. He had passed!

He left the academy beaming, his head sporting a shiny new forehead protector and ran to find Iruka. This was a time for celebration! He couldn't quite believe it.

He was going to be a Ninja of Konoha.


	3. Chapter 3: Nothing but Lies

**I've had some requests for characters pairings. Just to let you guys know, this isn't a romance story :P **

**There may be indications of potential relationships but i'm not giving away anything yet... muahahaha **

**There's no limit on the number of chapters either. I'll write and upload them as and when I motivate myself enough to do so. ^_^**

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**Chapter 3**

The drunk staggered down the street, clutching his empty bottle. It had only been a few days since his wife had walked out on him, but already he was starting to feel the hopelessness of his situation.

Each night he crawled from bar to bar, drinking shamelessly in his futile efforts to forget her. Each night he found himself out until the sun rose, and his friends found him to take him home.

Somewhere a clock chimed 3AM.

The man groped in his pocket for a match and cigarette, leaning back against a wall as he did so and subsequently ending up on his arse. The bottle rolled noisily across the flagstones until it came to an abrupt stop as it came up against something.

A cloud moved from across the moon, flooding the area with moonlight and revealing a shape on the roof across from him. Watching him with a kind of killer intent that would make the strongest man quiver in fear.

It bared its sharp fangs in a feral grin. And leapt straight at him.

The man had barely time to raise his arms before the beast collided with him, snarling and dragged them both into the nearest alley.

Blood spread slowly from the silent, dark alley; pooling around the empty bottle and staining the street with its red colour.

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'_Bed feels weirdly uncomfortable this morning_,' thought Naruto, as the sound of birds roused him from his sleep. And no wonder. He blinked and looked around in surprise as he found himself under a large bush in the park. He was sure he had gone to bed in his apartment the night before; how on earth had he ended up here?

Scrambling to his feet, he brushed off the twigs and leaves that were stuck to his pyjamas. Deciding that, since he was already outside, he might as well have ramen for breakfast. So he set off for the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, which wasn't that far away.

As he walked past some early rising villagers, he noticed something odd. They weren't giving him the usual glares or smirks like they'd always done. There was... something like _fear_ in their expressions. He stopped for a moment to look at them curiously. People were actually avoiding him! Choosing to cross the street rather than walk past him.

He wondered just what had caused this abrupt change in their attitudes towards him and at that moment saw himself in a shop window.

The sight shocked him so much he almost fell over.

Instead he stepped closer to the makeshift mirror, turning his head to see better. His ears had grown from slightly pointed human ears, to what looked like _animal_ ears. He flicked his left one and giggled a little, causing the nearest villagers to back away in terror.

But that wasn't the most shocking thing. His eyes had also changed.

What had once been perfectly ordinary bright blue orbs had changed to a blood-red almost demonic colour.

He frowned; this was a problem. It was his first day as a genin. He needed to meet his team, his sensei, complete missions. There was no way anybody would hire someone that looked like _this_.

Chewing his lip as he tried to think of a solution, he decided against going further into town. Despite the alluring call of ramen, it would be too much for anyone else to see him like this. He needed a plan.

In an astonishing display of acrobat ability, Naruto dashed across the rooftops to his apartment. Barely noticing his increased stamina and speed which was far above anything he could have achieved before.

Once safely inside, he paced the room, deep in thought, as he pondered how best to deal with his new appearance. It was certainly something to look at! His muscles seemed more toned than before; he even, unbelievably, seemed _taller_. By a few inches anyway, but that was enough, he realised with a sigh, for all his clothes to be too small.

He spent a few more minutes admiring his new physique, before resuming his pacing up and down. There must be something he could do to hide it...

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Sakura could barely conceal her excitement. Her hand shook as she brushed out her long pink hair and tied it up neatly with her shiny new forehead protector. It looked good. She'd even invested in an entirely new outfit! She assessed herself one last time, checking that everything was in order, before leaving for the Academy.

She hoped with all her strength that Sasuke would be on her team. '_Ooh we would make such a good pair_!' she squealed in her mind. '_Hell yeah_!' exclaimed her alter ego, inner Sakura.

As she neared the Academy, a blond-haired girl joined her, an equally determined expression on her face. Sakura frowned. "Oh no you don't, Ino-pig. Sasuke is _mine_!" she said loudly, quickening her pace to stay ahead of the blond.

"Tch, don't kid yourself forehead-girl!" she retorted, also quickening her pace to match Sakura's.

The two girls continued in this way until they reached the Academy; bursting through the doors at breakneck speed and landing in a mass of limbs on the floor.

Sakura was the first to recover, jumping to her feet and tossing her hair over her shoulder. She made her way triumphantly to a seat next to the dark haired boy, Sasuke, whilst Ino got unsteadily to her feet too and sat a few rows behind, glaring angrily at the back of her head.

This was a momentous day. Today, the new genin would find out who they would be spending the remainder of their ninja training with. The atmosphere was filled with anticipation.

Iruka then walked in and the room went quiet, all eyes trained on him. He swept a proud smile over his students. "Im so proud of you all, but this is where the real work begins. You are no longer m....." He was cut off abruptly by the classroom door sliding open so violently it nearly detached from the frame. In the doorway was a figure so unrecognisable many of them took several minutes to realise who it was.

"N...N...Naruto...kun?" stuttered a pretty dark haired girl with pale pupil-less eyes, a blush tinting her cheeks slightly. It _was_ Naruto. He seemed so different! He wore a pair of dark sunglasses and some loose black trousers wrapped near the ankles with white cloth as was the custom with ninja. His shirt was black too, with elbow length sleeves and an odd crimson coloured pattern that spread from his shoulders. He wore nothing on his feet and the most observant among them noted his nails on both hands and feet were elongated. His blond hair was longer than before, covering his ears entirely and a shiny forehead-protector hung around his neck.

"Yo," he said with a casual wave, making his way to the last available seat; next to Sakura, who was staring at him with unconcealed shock.

"Right then, yes, well..." stammered Iruka, trying to get over the sight of the new and improved Naruto, "as I was saying. Ahem. You are no longer my students." He continued presenting his lecture on all the hard work that was expected of them now, before commencing with the team placement announcements. Each team consisted of three genin and their jounin sensei.

Naruto waited impatiently for his name to be called. '_I hope I don't get dumped with Sasuke_,' he thought to himself, stealing a glance at the boy from behind his sunglasses. It had taken him several hours to come up with an adequate outfit that would fit and hide all his abnormalities. In the end he had raided a local clothes store, scaring the shop-keeper half to death in the process, and ended up with this simple affair.

He was actually rather pleased with it. The sunglasses hid his eyes and black and red were his favourite colours; much better than that awful orange he'd used to wear. He couldn't think what had convinced him to buy clothes that colour. Shoes had been a problem. He'd discovered that his toenails had undergone the same transformation as his fingernails had, but not only that, there were now pads on the soles of his feet. This made wearing shoes particularly uncomfortable, it felt much more natural just to walk bare foot, he couldn't understand why humans chose to wear them.

Before long, Iruka called out his name. "Team 7! Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto silently cursed. '_Ah well, at least I have Sakura to make up for that loser_,' he thought.

'_Ah well, at least I have my Sasuke-kun_!' thought Sakura, '_GRRAAAAH, why do I have to be teamed up with NARUTO_?!' screamed inner Sakura. '_Even though_,' she stole a quick glance at him, '_he does look kinda good in that outfit_.'

'..............' thought Sasuke.

Soon, all the teams had been called out and Iruka closed up the scroll he had been reading from. "Ok guys, a break for lunch then back here at 3pm to meet with your sensei's. I wish you all the best!" he said, wiping a tear from his eye and beaming at them all.

As they all left in their team groups, Naruto jogged to catch up with Sakura and Sasuke. "Hey guys, seeing as how we're all in the same team now, it would be great if we could all have lunch togeth..."

"HA! Not a chance you loser," sneered Sakura, turning to face him and cutting him off mid-sentence. "even if we're on the same team, you're still a stupid idiot that nobody likes. Quit forcing your company where it's not wanted!"

Sasuke looked round at them, expressionless and said in a soft but menacing voice, "you better not slow me down."

They then turned and walked off, Sakura skipping alongside Sasuke and saying in a sweet voice, "come on Sasuke-kun, lets go get some lunch." Sasuke said nothing.

Naruto stood motionless for a few moments in hurt shock. He shouldn't have been surprised. Despite everything that had happened, he should never have expected things to change just because he was a genin now. People still hated him, just like before.

Feeling angry and dejected, he headed for the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

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The Third Hokage was signing the 1057th of his daily paperwork when the two ninja's charged in without knocking. He sighed and carefully set down his pen before looking up to deal with the intrusion.

"Hokage-sama! We're sorry for interrupting," one of them said, breathlessly.

"It's important," said the other.

"Tell me," he ordered, frowning at their serious faces and arching his fingers in front of him. It must be something bad or they wouldn't have arrived in so rude a fashion.

"Yes, Hokage-same," the first one straightened up and delivered his report. The Hokage leafed through it as he continued. "As you are aware, a series of violent killings has been conducted throughout Konoha and the surrounding forest area for the past week. Cats mainly, birds, squirrels, rabbits and so on." The Hokage nodded, frown deepening. "Last night there occurred, at approximately 3am, our first human murder."

He looked up shocked. "Are you sure they're connected?"

"Yes sir. The marks and cause of death are the same in the victim and the animals sir."

"Do we have any suspects?"

"It is believed to be some kind of mad animal... or a demon."

The Hokage sat back and absorbed this. It was indeed a major issue. If a mad animal, or even a demon! were loose in Konoha it could be very dangerous. One death already, how many more would there be?

But there had been no other signs of anything of that nature. He thought long and hard. The two ninja shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, wondering whether they had been dismissed yet or not. Eventually he gave a sigh and looked up at them. They stood back to attention.

"Send for Uzumaki Naruto," he ordered.

Once they had gone, he stood and peered out through the window of his office. It was a long shot, but it was the only explanation that made sense. If somehow Naruto's seal had become weakened, then in a weaker state of mind such as sleep, the _other_ Naruto would be free to do as it wished. He worried about this for some time. After meeting with Naruto, he would be able to confirm his fears or not, that he was sure of.

A gentle knock at the door broke him out of his musings. He moved back to his chair and called out, "come in."

The person admitted was not the Naruto he remembered speaking to only a week ago. This Naruto was significantly taller, with longer hair and a different outfit. He was so surprised for a minute he just sat and stared at him. The boy shifted uncomfortably just as the other two ninja had done before. Shaking himself out of it, the Hokage smiled and ushered him forward to a second chair near his desk. Naruto sat.

"Now then, Naruto-kun, I thought we could have a little chat."

"Sure thing, old geezer, but we've gotta keep it short. I have to meet my sensei in an hour," he replied.

'_Yep, same old Naruto_,' thought the Hokage. "Well alright then, you've been assigned Kakashi? I wouldn't worry too much about being late then." He chuckled, and Naruto looked confused. "I was just wondering if you had noticed... anything unusual since the last time we met?"

Naruto shifted uncomfortably again, looking down at his hands. "Unusual, I don't know what you mean."

"Something out of the ordinary. Like a change in height or waking up somewhere and not knowing how you got there."

The boy winced and the Hokage knew he'd hit the right mark. His smile became triumphant. "Naruto-kun, please remove your sunglasses," he requested.

Naruto hesistated. What should he do?! But the old geezer seemed to know anyway, so... He took them off and looked the Hokage straight in the eye.

The Hokage nodded and sighed. "I was correct after all. I didn't want to be but..."

Naruto looked at him questioningly.

"Naruto-kun, there have been a string of murders committed by a demonic creature for the past week."

There was silence as that statement was absorbed.

"Wha...bu...but old geezer! You don't seriously think it was me do you!?" Naruto stuttered, blood-red eyes wide with shock.

"No, no I don't believe it was you."

He sighed in relief.

"I believe it is your other self."

"My...what?"

"Naruto, I know this will be difficult to take in, but please listen to me. You are not who you think are..." he began.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know I know. I'm the kyuubi," stated Naruto with a dismissive wave of his hand. The Hokage stared at him in puzzlement.

"How did you...? Well never mind. The point is there is a you from before sealing and a you from after sealing. The same being, but two entirely different consciousness. Are you following me?" Naruto nodded.

"Good. Now, if say, the seal was weakened somewhat, that would mean both consciousnesses would come into contact. In situations where the later you is in a weaker state, when you are asleep for example, the original you takes over. I believe it is the original you that is committing these atrocities."

Naruto sat back and contemplated this. It made sense when he thought about it. If both his selves shared the same space, it was simple to see how they could share memories and even physical forms!

"So it's like split personality?" he asked.

"Yes, A very special case of split personality," replied the Hokage. "I will send for some specialist seal jounin to look into your case. In the meantime I request that you spend the night in the research facilities at the rear of this building. It would enable us to observe you and protect the villagers."

Naruto nodded, getting to his feet.

"Ok old geezer. I have to get going now, I'll see you later," and with that he exited before the Hokage could say another word.

Sighing, the Third Hokage rubbed his temples. He was getting too old for this. All he needed right now was a nice hot spring. He fantasised about that for a while, added a few lovely young ladies to the dream, before returning to his work.


	4. Chapter 4: And Crooked Wings

**Sorry I haven't uploaded anything for a while! I've just been so busy and my laptop decided to explode… -_-**

**Anyway, back to the story!**

**I'm pretty much making this up as I go along lol**

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**Chapter 4**

The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock and the impatient sighing every two minutes. Sasuke was sat leaning against Iruka's desk looking as bored and uninterested as ever, occasionally shooting annoyed glances at the clock. There were only the three of them left in the room. All the other classmates had already been picked up by their sensei, it was unfair! Why did they have the only jounin with no sense of time keeping?

Sakura was pacing up and down, one eye always on the clock. Time seemed to be going slower than it usually did. She sighed again.

She was definitely grating on his nerves now. Naruto watched her from under his nearly closed lids, as he pretended to be asleep. He had discovered that this was the best way to observe people without them realising it, no wonder Shikamaru was always doing it! Although… Shikamaru was probably really sleeping, it was hard to tell.

They'd been waiting there for three hours now. Naruto was beginning to believe the sensei wasn't coming. He wouldn't be surprised, who wanted to spend the next few years training the monster?

He scratched absentmindedly behind his ears before realising with a jolt that he was using his leg. Stopping quickly he stole a glance at his teammates. Their attention was completely taken by the clock, he sighed with relief.

They both turned to him, glaring.

"SHUT UP!"

He blinked in surprise. Both went back to watching the clock and Sakura resumed her pacing. He resolved to pay more attention to his own body parts from now on.

It hadn't been difficult. He'd gone through every book on illusion and disguise techniques until he found one that was simple enough to maintain with limited concentration. As soon as he'd left the Hokage's office he had returned to his apartment to perfect it.

Now nobody would notice his abnormal appearance. All they would see was an ordinary human boy, albeit one with no shoes. He'd managed to mask his chakra too, so the jutsu would be hard to detect.

All in all, he was pretty pleased with himself.

* * *

A figure watched the three students from a vantage point in a tree outside, a small orange book in one hand.

They seemed ok, if a little restless and impatient. That would change soon enough. The pink haired one would need training in controlling her emotions of course and the dark haired boy in teamwork most likely. He seemed the most solitary of the trio.

And the blond… well he would just have to see. Too much was kept hidden. He narrowed his eyes. There was even the faintest trace of a disguising jutsu!

Kakashi shut his book with a snap and straightened up. Time to meet his team then.

* * *

All three of them jumped a foot in the air, as the door was suddenly swept open. A tall figure stood in the doorway. He was dressed in typical jounin gear, with his forehead protector covering one eye and a mask concealing the lower part of his face.

"Yo," he said.

This was met with several agonising moments of silence before…

"YOU'RE LATE!"

"HOW DARE YOU…!"

"THIS IS A SERIOUS BR…"

"WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR THR…"

"…IN MY TRAINING!"

Sasuke and Sakura were both screaming at him at the same time. Naruto remained where he was, trying desperately not to burst out laughing. The expression on the jounin's face was just so funny as he waved his hands in an attempt to calm them down.

"ALRIGHT! Alright!," he finally shouted. They fell silent.

He let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Well I apologise for being late, there was a lame donkey in a well that I had to rescue."

The three students stared at him in disbelief. He appeared not to notice.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi but you may call me sensei, boss, master etc," he said, probably grinning from beneath his mask. "Names?"

"Haruno Sakura"

"Uchiha Sasuke"

Kakashi turned to Naruto and waited expectantly. Naruto couldn't quite believe the jounin didn't know his name, everybody did. He was just being polite then.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he replied.

"Excellent," Kakashi clapped his hands together. They watched him nervously, wondering what was to happen next. "Well since we're all acquainted now, lets find out a bit more about each other shall we?"

He took a seat on the edge of Iruka's desk. Sasuke and Sakura brought chairs nearer, Naruto decided to remain where he was.

The next hour was an interrogation of personal life and aspirations, where the jounin somehow managed not to give away anything about himself. Naruto answered his questions briefly. He only had one aspiration. To become a top class ninja. They didn't ask about his past, '_probably not interested_,' he mused.

He payed more attention to Sasuke now. The boy's past was most definitely interesting. All his clan were murdered? How had he never heard about this. He knew they were dead, but obviously that part had been left out. Sasuke was now determined to avenge them, by killing his older brother.

Naruto shook his head. He just couldn't understand it. Humans were even more bloodthirsty than _he_ was!

Sakura's past, however, was a lot more dull and ordinary. He stopped listening half way through, knowing she could talk for Konoha and there was little he could do to stop her. She would stop when she found nothing else to say.

"….Naruto?"

He was brought out of his daydream with a jolt. That last question was directed at him.

"What?" he said sheepishly.

"Why aren't you listening? You could learn valuable insights into your team mates," Kakashi chastised him.

Naruto couldn't believe that. When would he ever need to know about the time Sakura lost her favourite hairbrush? He remained unconvinced.

Ramen found its way back into his thoughts and his stomach began to grumble loudly. Was it time to eat yet?

Eventually Kakashi let them go with instructions to meet again the next day for their first training session. Excited, Naruto happily ignored the cold shoulder he received from his two team mates and went looking for food.

* * *

That night it happened again.

The creature was content with its victim. A woman of perhaps 40, with plenty of flesh on her. It didn't notice the two ANBU stationed on the roof above it, keeping watch.

* * *

Morning came and with it a growing sense of impeding doom. Naruto rolled out of bed and padded into the bathroom. At least this time he hadn't woken up on the other side of town.

Not for the first time, he wondered about his other self. Was it true? Did it really exist and take control in his sleep?

Frowning, he probed around in the back of his mind. He could feel a presence certainly, but it dodged his every effort to corner it. It wasn't an alien presence either. He remembered once his encounter with a mind jutsu. That had felt completely different. This was a part of him.

Frustrated he glared at himself in the mirror and blinked in confusion. He laughed as he realised he'd forgotten to put on the disguise jutsu. Turning to admire himself from every angle, he played around with his facial expressions. Pulling a variety of faces that put him in a much better mood.

In high spirits, he left his apartment to meet his team and begin his training.

* * *

The presence in the back of his mind stirred. If it had a physical form it would have yawned, stretched and blinked groggily as it looked around.

* * *

Kakashi was late again.

"Sorry, sorry! There was a small horse stuck in the second Hokage's nose."

They didn't question this. Soon they were set the task of walking up trees. This required considerable chakra control, which was unfortunate for Naruto. For the hundredth time he landed on his backside.

"C'mon idiot! You're going to let the team down at this rate!" said Sasuke.

Naruto grimaced. It seemed Kakashi had drilled him in the benefits of teamwork after they'd left yesterday and he was, if possible, even more annoying as a result.

Sakura had mastered the task within a couple of hours and was sat next to Kakashi, filing her nails. He was reading his little orange book. Neither were paying them any attention whatsoever.

In a valiant effort to reach the top, Sasuke was literally tearing holes in the bark of the tree and, as always, never quite managed it. If anything, Naruto was enjoying the other boy's failed attempts, despite his own failures. Just then, he succeeded in touching the very uppermost branch, far above anywhere Naruto had succeeded in reaching. It just wasn't fair!

He just couldn't seem to make the chakra do what he wanted. Every time he tried to direct it around his feet it was blocked by something. He tried again. He could almost hear a small sniggering in the back of his mind. It was laughing at him!

Furious now, Naruto almost let the disguise jutsu waver, but managed to steady it just in time. If it broke now, Sasuke would see what he really looked like. Not a conversation he was looking forward to.

He moulded his chakra again with such force that he started drawing in more than usual. All his stored emotions began to leak back in. All the hatred and fury and jealousy. The chakra took on the blood red colour and everything went red.

* * *

Kakashi was distracted from his book by an intense feeling of bloodlust. Suddenly on guard he cast around for the enemy. There was no-one around.

Frowning he checked on Sakura. She hadn't noticed it, though she huddled down a bit and rubbed an arm as though cold. Sasuke was still intent on mastering the task, determined not to fail in the first training session. He hadn't noticed it either.

It sent shivers up the jounin's spine. He hadn't felt something like this for a long time. But what could it possibly be?

Finally he looked across at Naruto.

The boy had his back to him, facing the tree he'd assigned to him, but his whole body was rigid. He stood still, unmoving and silent.

Kakashi slowly closed his precious book. This was not good.

Red chakra began to leak from the boy. Not. Good. At. All.

He stood carefully, storing the book in one of his pockets and pushed up the forehead protector to reveal his left eye. Using the sharingan, he immediately picked up on the enormous store of demon chakra around Naruto. It had seeped into every inch of skin and was picking apart the disguise jutsu he could now plainly see.

This was getting dangerous. He'd had no idea the boy could use that sort of power. '_Why didn't my superiors inform me? Perhaps they didn't know… no they must do…'_

He had to get the other two out of harms way so he could concentrate on Naruto. Turning to Sakura, he put on a calm and unconcerned façade.

"Sakura," she looked up at him, "I think that will be all for now. Collect Sasuke and both of you take a break, we'll meet back here in a couple of hours."

He hoped he sounded convincing enough. Sakura nodded and happily skipped over to Sasuke's tree. Kakashi watched Naruto with one eye and mentally urged them to hurry. Already the boy was starting to lose control of his chakra. It surged and spiked randomly, creating currents that flowed in different directions and whipped the wind up around him. The grass beneath his feet was burnt to cinders and the very earth was beginning to char; evidence of the heat it was giving off.

* * *

Kyuubi was happy. He couldn't believe his luck, it was his turn and it wasn't even dark yet! He played a bit more with his chakra. To anyone it would seem undirected and out of control, but it wasn't. He enjoyed the chaos, the turmoil he could cause.

On the edge of his senses he perceived a movement. Someone was closing in on him from behind. A human.

He snarled quietly. He detested humans. They were vile, murderous, evil creatures. Even he wasn't _that_ evil, despite being a demon and his love of destruction.

Fangs bared, he turned on the approaching human and unleashed a burst of raw chakra, hoping to eradicate the pest. It dodged and sped around to come at him again from the side.

Kyuubi braced himself. He didn't like the strange red eye with the little black dots. He'd seen it somewhere before, but for some reason the memory eluded him.

He gathered chakra again, ready for the next attack.

* * *

Kakashi was fast, but only just managed to avoid the blazing ball of demon chakra shot at him. The damn monster was shooting raw chakra at him now! The ball hit a tree and exploded into bits of burning wood that rained down on the forest floor.

Changing direction, he sprinted around to the boy's side, hoping to catch him off guard, but the demon-boy was ready. His sharingan picked up on the chakra gathering again inside of him.

Deciding on a course of action, he formed a ball of lightning in his hand. Chakra ball against chakra ball.

He didn't want to hurt Naruto, but there was very little he could do in these circumstances. He needed to calm him down and stop the flow of demon chakra. The best way to do that was to hit him in one of the main chakra coils, hopefully shock him enough to snap him out of this.

Throwing every last ounce of strength into his stride, he leapt at him, arm outstretched and sank the Chidori into Naruto's shoulder. Face to face now, it seemed as though time had slowed right down. He hung in the air, horrified at the expression on the young boy's face.

His eyes were glowing bright red and the pupils dilated to mere slits. His lips pulled right back from his teeth in a snarl. He barely looked human.

Soon time caught up with them again and the red chakra receded back into Naruto. The boy seemed frozen in shock and pain, and then slid into unconsciousness. Kakashi caught him and gently lowered him to the floor.

All traces of the blood thirst had gone from the atmosphere. He sighed with relief and looked around the clearing. There was a circle of damaged earth about 3 metres wide around where Naruto had been standing. The boy himself seemed remarkably unchanged, despite the level of burning chakra that had enveloped him just moments before. His shoulder would heal, and quickly too if what he'd been told was true. He hadn't hit him too hard, a few days in hospital and he'd be right as rain.

It was the other things which worried him. Where normal human ears should be, there were large furry orange-red fox ears. He rubbed his temple. This was getting out of hand. He would have to inform the Hokage of course.

He picked the boy up in his arms and carried him out of the forest.


	5. Chapter 5: I Have the Answer

**Chapter 5**

There were very few times in life that Kakashi had purposefully set out to see the Hokage without being ordered to. This was one of those times.

Just thinking about the consequences unleashing the kyuubi would have on the village made him shiver in horror. If anything, he was the most accepting of the demon-turned-human. Most of the villagers, and even most other ninja, would happily have had him murdered when he was still a baby, not even able to walk or talk. But his experience earlier that day had cast a stark reality on him.

It was dangerous to allow Naruto to walk around unaccompanied. Anything could happen! He could lose control again maybe even kill someone!

Kakashi thought back about the recent animal attacks. '_Nah, couldn't be'_. He dismissed the very idea. Naruto's only goal in life was to become a top-class ninja to protect the village, he'd even said so himself. There was no way he'd do a thing like that, even under the influence of demonic energy.

The image of Naruto's face, animal like and twisted in a feral snarl flashed before his eyes. He pushed it from his mind. '_No, definitely not._'

He reached the Hokage's office within minutes, not even out of breath. Of course it had taken him an hour longer than it should have, only because he had stopped to rescue an elderly man's pants from a crow that had taken a liking to them.

Approaching the secretary, a young chuunin with close cropped dark hair, he requested an urgent meeting with the third Hokage.

"I'm sorry, sir," he replied, shuffling a few papers awkwardly, trying to avoid the jounin's eye, "the Hokage has gone out of town for a few weeks."

Kakashi stared at him. Sarutobi _never_ went out of town unannounced. In fact, he couldn't recall the last time he'd been out of town!

"Well where has he gone?" He tried to keep his tone level and friendly, so as not to make it any harder on the young secretary who was visibly sweating now under his gaze.

"Um… um… he said not to tell anyone, not even the messenger-birds know," he mumbled.

This was even more unusual. Not to even tell his ninja where to contact him? Most strange. Perhaps he was on a top secret mission… or was in hiding from an enemy. Both equally impossible. Besides, Sarutobi was no pushover, he was the third Hokage! He had responsibilities!

The secretary was wilting under his unblinking stare. He generally had this effect on people. That and his features hidden beneath a mask gave him quite an imposing face. He almost felt sorry for the guy.

"Where… is… he?" he repeated. Chopping off each word with a snap and leaning in closer, his hands resting on the desk. "It is _very_ important that I get word to him."

The secretary was almost in tears. "I don't know, I don't know… he just said he needed a break!" he squeaked.

Kakashi breathed deeply and moved back. The guy didn't know anything and it was mean to torture him like that. He prepared to leave.

"He left Danzo-sama in charge though," the secretary gushed, glad to see the back of the jounin. Kakashi stopped dead.

"_DANZO_?!" he exclaimed, turning back in shock. If anything, that shocked him more. "He left _Danzo_ in charge?"

"Yes sir."

There was no way in hell he would be reporting to that guy. Danzo had a bit of a reputation as a ruthless and formidable ninja. Despite appearing as a disabled old man, he was every bit as powerful as the Hokage, and much less forgiving. He had his own laws that he wished to enforce, and if given the chance, would enforce them with an iron fist. It had been Danzo, in fact, who had led the protest against allowing Naruto to live in the first place.

He wouldn't be reporting this to Danzo.

Naruto's fate would have to be determined when the Hokage returned. Until then, he would have to keep an eye on the boy himself, perhaps draft in a few trusted allies. He pondered on this for a while as he made his way back to the hospital, taking the long way round because a black cat crossed his path. It didn't hurt to be careful.

* * *

Danzo watched from his vantage point in the Hokage's office as Kakashi did a U-turn because of a black cat. Sometimes superstition was just plain ridiculous.

He smiled to himself as his plans came to fruitation. Soon his newest experiment would be ready for implantation and there would be nothing to stop him taking over his village. The current Hokage was a stubborn old fool, but not even Sarutobi could possibly hope to contend with a demon.

It had taken countless years to perfect the jutsu. Countless trials and errors. Countless petty demons destroyed before he had finally mastered it. The first successful one had happened just two weeks ago, but he had been impatient to implement it on its true target.

He was still testing the boundaries of it. It wouldn't be long now before he finally performed it on the demon-brat.

With the kyuubi under his control, he would be unstoppable.

He would take over Konoha.

The fire country.

Maybe even the world!

Perhaps that was going a bit far. He would settle for just the village. Already he could see it within his grasp.

Releasing the demon's memories had been just the first step. Soon he would be consumed by his original self. Without Naruto's patriotism getting in the way, it would have no qualms about destroying the resistance. Danzo chuckled to himself as he settled into the Hokage's chair. Sending the free tickets to a hot springs had been his best idea yet. No need to look over his shoulder now, Sarutobi wouldn't know what had happened before it was too late.

Victory would indeed be a very sweet taste.

* * *

Two weeks later, Naruto and his team were due to go on another boring D-class mission. Unknown to his team, Kakashi had specifically requested easy, non-stressful missions in the hopes that it would keep Naruto from losing control again. It certainly seemed to be working; the boy appeared completely normal if it weren't for the faint traces of the disguise jutsu he always wore. But it wouldn't work for much longer.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke whined, "why do we have to keep doing these stupid easy missions? I wont learn anything doing this!"

It was true, this was doing nothing for them. He couldn't keep this up for much longer. If only the Hokage would hurry up and return.

"Have patience Sasuke. In time, you'll be assigned a higher class mission but you've only been doing this two weeks," he replied, "Ok, listen up, for today we…"

He issued them the mission to catch a runaway cat, which had been making a nuisance of itself. Naruto groaned inwardly. He _hated_ cats. It was all because of Nibi, he believed. That damn demon had always been a pain in the demonic arse. As a less powerful Bijuu than himself, it had often trailed behind him in the hope that he would repel any attackers and spent the entire time making annoying wise-cracks about the size of his posterior… among other things.

The three genin were soon speeding across the rooftops in search of the cat. Naruto was not best pleased with this mission and neither, it seemed, was Sasuke. The boy had a perpetual frown on his face. Or perhaps that was just his usual expression.

An hour later they were getting nowhere. Naruto was getting impatient. He was hungry and wanted to end this quickly so he could get his ramen. A scent brought his attention quickly down to a roof a little way away.

Springing into action, he hurled himself to it and landed on all fours, nose to the roof tiles. Sakura and Sasuke were a little taken aback by his weird behaviour and took a few moments before they followed him. By the time they'd reached the spot he had already taken off at an astonishing speed, nose inches from the roof.

He recognised the scent. It had to be the cat, nothing else would smell this revolting. His animal instincts were taking over. He ran on all fours, concentrating only on the scent on the floor infront of him. He concentrated so much that his disguise jutsu slipped and his claws made scratching noises as they hit the tiles.

The transformation had been gradual until two nights ago. He had woken up that morning (in the middle of a tennis court) to find a tail emerging from his shorts. It was orange-red, just like his ears, and was actually surprisingly useful for holding things, he'd discovered. Like having a third arm.

Now it streamed behind him, helping him keep his balance as he sped, faster and faster, after the cat. It annoyed him that he had to spend so much energy on the stupid creature. He bared his fangs in irritation and growled softly.

In no time at all, he saw it.

The cat was sitting there, arrogant and mocking, in the alley below. He pounced, snarling at it. '_Stupid cat'_.

Yowling in terror it darted away.

"Oh no you don't" he growled, and leapt to block its exit, hackles raised.

The cat was hissing and spitting; its back arched so much its hind legs threatened to leave the ground. He felt oddly content with its reaction. Feeling decidedly smug, he raised a clawed hand to strike his prey. It would make a tasty snack before his ramen.

"NO, Naruto!"

Naruto turned to see who was interrupting. Kakashi stood in the alleyway, looking flustered. The cat meowed.

"You mustn't harm the cat, Naruto."

He narrowed his eyes. Who was to say what he could or could not do?

"Listen to me, Naruto, you don't want to kill it, you were just meant to catch it," Kakashi took a careful step forward, "there's a good boy now, come away."

If looks could kill, Kakashi would have died then and there. Naruto did not approve of being told he was a 'good boy' in such a patronising way. But the distraction had rid him of his animalistic intent and he didn't feel like eating the cat anymore.

He restored his disguise jutsu and grabbed the cat (now scarred for life undoubtedly) securely by the scruff of the neck. At that moment Sakura and Sasuke caught up with him.

"Naruto you dimwit!" huffed Sakura, out of breath, "don't run off like that!"

He grinned sheepishly at her.

"Sorry…"

"As punishment you're buying us all lunch," Kakashi announced.

"WHAT!?" he exclaimed, almost smashing the cat (which he'd forgotten about) against a brick wall. Kakashi quickly rescued the feline before anything else happened. "But…but…"

They had already left.

Sighing, Naruto hung his head and shuffled after them, rooting around in his pocket for his wallet. This was going to cut a big hole in his savings.

* * *

It was finally Wednesday! Sakura could barely contain her excitement.

Today was the day. The day she turned 13 years old.

It was a momentous occasion; she was now officially a teenager. Smiling broadly, she admired herself in the mirror, trying to see whether she had got any taller. It was hard to tell.

For the past few months she'd been dropping hints to everyone. The hints got increasingly less subtle as the day approached, until finally yesterday she had told every single person she met that her birthday was tomorrow. In fact, she had even compiled a list of the presents she wanted. She was a very organised person.

What she wanted most of all though, was the hair comb she had seen in a shop window. She had spotted it while on a mission with Sasuke-kun and Naruto-baka. A beautifully crafted, emerald green hair comb. She wanted it so badly she had practically begged her parents to get it for her, regardless of its expensive price tag.

Almost shaking with anticipation, she arranged her hair and headed downstairs to her waiting family and presents.

They were the usual items. Clothing, shoes, makeup. But no hair comb. She was most disappointed.

But she wouldn't give up hope yet!

This evening she had invited all her team mates and closest friends to a birthday meal, even Kakashi and Naruto-baka. There was still the possibility that one of them would get it for her!

Smile back in place at the thought, she thanked her relatives properly and tried on her new shoes. Shoes definitely made her feel better.

* * *

Naruto had never been that fussed about what he wore, but today was different. It was Sakura's famous birthday meal and he was invited! He was never invited anywhere, it was definitely a major breakthrough. Maybe they would be friends. He smiled to himself.

The presence at the back of his mind snorted in contempt. It had been growing larger and more pronounced as the days went by. Naruto worried about it sometimes. What would happen when it grew too big? Now was not the time for that though, he needed to prepare.

He looked once again at the selection of outfits spread out on his bed. He wanted to look his best for this occasion, but what was best? The black and red? Orange? White and blue?

Not orange, he decided. It wasn't good to stand out too much.

He finally settled on a white shirt and blue pants. Nothing fancy, but at least he looked fairly smart. He pulled on a black jacket and checked the time. One hour to go.

It wouldn't take him long to get there, but being late was not an option.

Using his tail to grab his keys, he picked up the gift-wrapped item and stored it carefully in his pocket. It had taken months to save up enough to buy it for her; surviving on the bare essentials and skipping dinner for the past week. His only source of income was from the missions, and low level missions did not pay well.

The monthly allowance from the council hadn't come through this time either, which was strange. Perhaps, because he was a genin now and could make his own way in the world, they had decided not to grant it anymore.

Pausing only to restore the disguise jutsu, Naruto left his apartment, the emerald green hair comb in his pocket.

* * *

Sakura was getting increasingly frustrated. Nearly all her guests had arrived now and _none_ of them had presented her with the comb.

Struggling to maintain her composure and not throw a childish tantrum in the middle of her birthday celebrations, she fixed her smile in place and opened the door to greet her next guests.

Fake smile immediately became real smile. It was Sasuke; dressed as though he had just walked past and decided to say hi. Everyone else had made an effort, but Sasuke didn't need to. Sasuke was Sasuke after all.

Next to Sasuke was Naruto. Smile disappeared. She hadn't wanted to invite the idiot, but it had seemed rude to invite Kakashi-sensei and not him. He had at least not appeared in bright orange.

"Hi, welcome welcome, come in!" she said happily, gesturing for the two boys to go inside. They did so. Sasuke, with hands in his pockets and a grim expression, mumbled something like "happy birthday" as he went past. She beamed at him.

Naruto almost skipped inside, his signature grin plastered across his face. "Sakura Sakura! Happy birthda…" he began.

She cut him off with a glare. "Shh, stop being so loud idiot!" Taking the offered gift from his hands with a "thanks" she stalked off to find Sasuke again. Anything from Naruto was probably worthless; she dropped it on top of all her other gifts, '_I'll open it later_.' She didn't notice the hurt expression on Naruto's face.

The next half hour was spent chatting with all her guests, as she waited for Kakashi to arrive.

"He'll probably have some lame excuse like he got lost on the road of life or something," she joked.

Eventually they had to begin the meal without him; otherwise the food would get cold. Just then her mother burst in, face contorted in anger.

"What gave you the right to invite that brat into my house!?" she screamed, pointing at Naruto who had gone very pale and was attempting to blend into the wallpaper.

The room was silent. Sakura could feel her face flushing deep red with embarrassment. How could they _do_ this to her? It was so embarrassing, she'd never be able to live this down.

Her father was there trying to usher her hysterical mother out of the room. She was still pointing at Naruto.

"Get him out! Get him OUT!!"

* * *

It was so unfair! He didn't do anything!

In a matter of moments after Sakura's mother had burst in, strong hands had grabbed him by the collar and thrown him outside!

Naruto nursed his bruised arm. He had landed awkwardly on the flagstones and it hurt. But nothing compared to the hurt he felt inside.

It was as though nothing he tried would ever make a difference.

He was still a demon, a monster, in their eyes.

There was nothing he could do to make them see there was something more. That he had feelings and wasn't as bad as they made him out to be. Right?

He huddled down on the front steps, head burrowed in his knees, as it began to rain.

* * *

Kakashi whistled as he made his way down the street. It had been an eventful day, but now he was ready to just sit down for a nice meal.

It had started to rain and a pretty young woman had offered him an umbrella. What could he do but offer his valuable services to her? Hence why he was late.

He rounded a corner and the Haruno house came into view. Already the party must be in full swing, he was late again!

It was as he stepped through the gate that he finally noticed the figure sitting on the steps. '_Naruto?_' he thought. The boy looked thoroughly depressed, his face hidden in his knees, and completely drenched by the rain.

Frowning in worry, he made his way round him and knocked on the door. Something must have happened. He would have to check it out. As he stepped across the threshold he swore he could hear a soft sobbing sound from behind.


	6. Chapter 6: Spreading the Cancer

**Chapter 6**

The rain seemed never-ending. He watched puddles merge and form mini-rivers that streamed over his toes. It pounded rhythmically over his head and shoulders; and ran down his neck, soaking every inch of him.

But he was numb to the cold. He was numb to everything. He felt... nothing.

His movements were robotic, he didn't care where he was going; his legs were moving by themselves as if on autopilot. Even his tail trailed behind on the ground, lifeless and still.

The disguise jutsu had dissipated shortly before he'd left the porch outside the Haruno household. Not that he remembered doing so. His mind was as blank as his emotions.

Despite this his senses still picked up on the lone figure following silently across the rooftops. He ignored it. What did it matter to him? What did anything matter?

The presence in the back of his mind had other ideas. It bared its teeth at it.

* * *

Kakashi was fuming. It had taken over an hour to get the story straight and to calm the outraged Sakura. By that time, Naruto had already disappeared. It was just so unreasonable. The boy hadn't even done anything!

He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. Who knows what kind of devastating effect this was going to have. He needed to find Naruto, and quickly.

Swiftly thanking his host, he sprinted down the street looking for signs of the boys passage. He cursed silently as he realised all traces had already been washed away.

The words in his head at that moment would have made Tsunade blush like a schoolgirl.

* * *

All her guests had sighed with relief and, one-by-one, collecting up her gifts to take upstairs to her room.

It had been an eventful birthday. After that brief but oh-so-very embarrassing outburst her mother had apologised with the biggest birthday cake she had ever seen. It seemed even her guests had thought nothing of it, so that was ok. Only Kakashi-sensei had brought it up.

Sakura frowned as she remembered his worried expression (or what she assumed was a worried expression, it was hard to tell anything from what little you could see of his face). Perhaps it _was_ a little unfair on Naruto, but he didn't have to leave!

She had put together a plate of food for him and brought it outside, only to find he had already left. '_How dare he leave my party!' _growled inner Sakura.

Then she stopped. In her hand was the little gift Naruto had given her, she hadn't opened it. Wondering what he could possibly have given her, she pulled at the ribbon.

'_Probably just some crappy little_...'

She gasped in amazement. Hardly daring to believe it, she turned over the emerald green hair comb to admire it from every angle. He had bought it for her!

Instantly, tears sprang to her eyes. She wiped them away irritably. Forgetting her other gifts, she made her way to the mirror to try it on. It was perfect.

Her mother watched curiously as the front door slammed and a pink haired figure wearing an emerald green hair comb sprinted down the street.

* * *

The ANBU was getting annoyed. It had been constantly raining and he was soaking, yet he had to remain tailing the brat.

Wiggling his toes to try to get feeling back to them, he watched as Naruto plodded down the street and abruptly turned left.

'_Left?'_ He thought in surprise. '_He doesn't live that way..._'

He had assumed the boy had been heading home. This was odd.

Springing from his perch on the far roof, he shadowed him from the street instead, keeping several feet behind at all times so as not to be noticed. Perhaps he was going to visit someone? There was nothing but houses that way.

'_Why is he going this way?'_

As they reached the huge stone wall surrounding Konoha, he stopped. Surely he would turn back now, there was nowhere else to go. He hid in the shadow of a building so the boy wouldn't see him when he went past.

But Naruto didn't stop.

The ANBU watched in confusion as he climbed the wall with his claws **((If you've ever seen spiderman... just like that))** and disappeared over the top.

Gritting his teeth in exasperation he used chakra to propel himself to the top and followed the boy into the trees on the other side.

It was dark and eerily quiet. Crouching down, he searched the ground for signs of footprints. He frowned as he noted the scorched underbrush and scratch marks on the bark of trees.

He stepped carefully, so as not to make a sound, all senses alert for anything. But he couldn't react in time. The creature dropped from the branches above him, expelling all the air from his lungs. He didn't have the breath to scream as its fangs pierced his throat.

* * *

The scents of the forest, oh they brought back such fond memories. The freedom, the rainwater on the leaves, the blood of a fresh kill... '_wait what?_'

Naruto-kyuubi opened his eyes and turned in the direction the smell was coming from. He sniffed. Human. But that wasn't all. He sniffed again. Something familiar. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. Something foul.

Flexing his claws, he dropped to all fours and charged back towards the smell. He knew that scent. With each stride anger built up in his chest, forcing chakra to flow from every inch of skin and surround him in a glowing Kyuubi-shaped ball of fury.

'_How dare she be here!'_

There was no way his target couldn't have felt him coming. The very earth was trembling beneath him. Sure enough, she was waiting for him, hackles raised and spitting acid that sizzled through the undergrowth before her. Behind her was the prone body of an ANBU.

"**NIBI!**" he roared.

She bared her fangs in that patronising grin she always had.

"**Why hello there, kyuuuuuuubi,"** she smirked, deliberately drawing out his name in a belittling way. **"Have you come to join me for dinner?"**

She purred and rubbed up against him. He batted her away, glaring at her. She giggled and twitched her two tails at him, before returning to what was left of her meal. If anything, her arrogance infuriated him even more.

He pounced, sinking his inch long fangs into her haunches. Screeching, she kicked out at his head, but he dodged and skidded around to face her head on. Her pupils were dilated so much, they had almost disappeared. Purple chakra enveloped her and she puffed herself up to her not-so-very impressive true size. She waved her tails violently, battering anything that got in the way.

"**Why are you still in that ridiculous human form kyuuuuubi?"** she sneered.

They circled each other, looking for an opening to attack. He said nothing.

"**You should be thankful, Danzo-sama will help you, like he helped me." **She licked her lips. **"You can be your true self again, it'll be just like the old days. You and me. No more humans, we..."**

He didn't let her finish. There was nothing she could say that he would ever believe. He slashed viciously at her face, successfully scratching three deep marks into her snout.

Enraged and in pain, she headbutted him in the stomach, sending him flying head-over-heels into a tree. It knocked the breath out of him, but caused no real damage. He flipped back onto his feet and dodged just in time as she sent a chakra fuelled paw into the ground where he'd just been lying.

But she was faster than he was in her true form. One of her tails caught him by the leg and swept him into another tree with such force that he was certain this time he would come away with some broken ribs.

It wasn't looking good. He couldn't defeat her in his current state.

Frustration ate at him. Nibi laughed and strutted round in a circle. Baiting him and smirking at his failed attempts to hit her. Rage boiled within him.

Suddenly he felt something release. Pain seared his stomach for just a moment, in the place where his seal was. Then he felt chakra infuse him. More chakra than before.

He saw Nibi's eyes widen and her pace come to an abrupt stop as two more tails emerged from his backside to join the one he already had. His grin widened. Now he had three tails, there was no contest between them. He would beat her to a pulp.

* * *

Danzo paced the Hokage's office, deep in thought. Not long ago he had received word of a large surge of Chakra in the forest near the border of Konoha. He wasn't concerned, but it complicated matters.

Nibi had been a successful test, but now she was definitely making a nuisance of herself. She would have to be contained for now. It was the kyuubi that was the troubling thing. It appeared to be progressing at a much faster pace than he had anticipated.

Not to worry though. It only meant his plans would need to be implemented sooner than expected.

For now, he also had the chuunin exams to plan. If all went well, he would have not just two but three jinchuuriki under his control.

* * *

When the ANBU troop arrived on the scene there was no sign of movement. The leader, wearing a bird mask, surveyed the area and determined with a nod that all was clear.

Quickly they emotionlessly destroyed the remains of their comrade and gathered up the unconscious cat demon to take back to HQ.

* * *

It had been over a week now since her birthday. Naruto had never come back.

Even Sasuke seemed more melancholy. She didn't blame him, it was almost lonely without that loud-mouthed annoying idiot.

She started as Kakashi landed infront of them without warning. "Sorry im late, I... oh never mind." He realised they just weren't listening.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke got to his feet. "Are we entering the chuunin exams?"

Kakashi sighed. Sakura came closer. She was also interested in the answer, the chuunin exams would be a good opportunity to prove herself to everyone.

"No."

She nodded, unsurprised. Sasuke clenched his fists.

"Why!? I'm ready! I can do it!" The desperation in his voice was clear.

Kakashi placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "You know why. Teams of three remember, Sasuke, teams of three."

Sasuke hung his head dejectedly. Teeth grinding in frustration. "Right," he said between clenched teeth.

"We shall be watching though, try to learn as much as you can from the participants. You can use it for when you _do_ compete."

He turned and stalked off before Kakashi had even finished speaking. Sakura sighed; he was getting increasingly more difficult to deal with. She looked up at the sky and touched the hair comb in her hair.

"Naruto, where are you?"

* * *

The first two parts of the chuunin exams were conducted privately, but they could watch the third and final event. The tournament. Sakura settled into her seat between Sasuke and Ino. The blond's team had failed during the second event, but in a rare moment of kindness, Sakura had decided not to rub her nose in it. It wouldn't do to be childish and immature _all_ the time. She was growing up; time to act like it.

Sneaking a glance to the side, she stole a look at Sasuke. He sat motionless, staring straight ahead with total concentration at the contestants gathering in the arena below, ignoring everything else.

On Sasuke's left sat Kakashi, nose buried in his little orange book. He had been on time for once. Past him lounged another jounin, Gai-sensei, who sprang to his feet every so often to shout encouragement at the almost identically dressed youth in the arena. It was embarrassing to be sat so close to the guy. Sakura tried to hide behind her hand as several people in the rows infront turned to find the source of the disturbance.

She glanced to her right. Ino looked bored and played with her ponytail; no doubt she would rather be in her flower shop right now, but stayed to support her friends. On Ino's right sat the pretty dark haired girl, Hinata.

Sakura didn't know Hyuuga Hinata that well. She was a quiet girl that kept to herself most of the time. As if sensing her gaze she looked up at Sakura and gave her a shy half-smile. She smiled back, then turned back to the arena.

There were eight participants still in the tournament.

Another Hyuuga, Negi, stood by his teammates, Tenten and the Gai-lookalike Rock Lee. Next to them stood Kiba, his puppy lying on top of his head, and Shino, as mysterious as always. She made a mental note to one day find out what he actually looked like beneath that thick heavy fur coat.

The final three Sakura didn't recognise. They were ninja from another village; a blond girl clutching a giant over-sized fan, a guy with odd purple facial markings, and a red-haired boy.

She narrowed her eyes at the red-haired youth. There was something about him... she just couldn't put her finger on it.

Sasuke had apparently noticed it too. He was watching the boy with undisguised ferocity.

Soon the first match was underway.

Rock lee versus Kiba. Not for the first time Sakura wondered whether he was allowed to bring his pet with him; nobody made a move to stop him so she assumed it was ok. The others cleared the arena, leaving just the two of them (and dog) with the invigilator.

He gave a nod and rock lee immediately sent a flying kick to begin the fight.

It was over in no time at all. Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, lay in a jumbled mass of limbs infront of the victorious rock lee. Gai-sensei was literally crawling over the railings in excitement, yelling his praises.

Hinata sighed in disappointment. Not surprising, Kiba was her teammate after all, but she hadn't exactly been all that encouraging. She was supposed to be here to support him right? Sakura shook her head in exasperation. '_Hopeless girl'_.

Next up was Negi versus the red-haired boy, whose name was revealed as Gaara. This would be interesting. She sat forward slightly to see better.

Gaara had a large gourd tied to his back. Sakura wondered if it was the sand village's thing to possess over-sized objects. _'I wonder if they're compensating for something...... lets not go there.'_

* * *

Posing as the third Hokage was easy. Danzo sat by the Kazekage of the sand village overlooking the tournament, completely at ease.

Excitement was threatening to overflow inside him. '_Soon... it will happen soon... I have it all planned out perfectly'._

He stole a glance at the Kazekage. His spies had assured him that he suspected nothing, believing this all to be his own brilliant idea. Danzo struggled not to laugh insanely, as much as he would've loved to. It hadn't taken much to infiltrate the inner workings of the sand village and plant this scheme.

The second match had begun. He watched with predatory anticipation, his eyes never leaving Gaara's face. Under ordinary conditions the two were evenly matched; but Gaara wasn't ordinary.

'_Soon. Very soon_. _The seal should be at breaking point now._'

Sure enough, the boy was already beginning to change.

* * *

Sakura watched in horror as the sand surrounding the red-haired boy cleared to reveal a misshapen form. Tan coloured flesh with swirling blue patterns covered him from head to toe. A single... tail?... curled round to rest against his back.

He didn't look human anymore. He looked... like a racoon. '_What the hell kind of jutsu is _that!?' exclaimed inner Sakura.

Negi seemed just as shocked, but recovered quickly and leapt to resume his attack. The Gaara-turned-rodent bared his fangs in a feral grin and raised a clawed hand... paw?

The shockwave from the impact sent everyone in a three mile radius reeling.

Sakura coughed. Sand and dust filled the entire arena in a choking cloud, concealing everything. She waved a hand in front of her face, blinking to stop her eyes tearing up. Shadowy figures stumbled past her, arms held up before them like bizarre mummies.

As the dust settled, she began to make out something unbelievably large standing in the middle of the arena. Something enormous. Something that was growling deeply; the sound of which resonated around the stadium. Something with such killer intent she could feel it to the depth of her soul, and it terrified her.

Swinging his tail high and roaring in triumph, Shukaku tore a hole in the arena wall and stepped out into the streets of Konoha.


	7. Chapter 7: You Are the Faith Inside Me

**Sorry I haven't uploaded a chapter for a while! I've been reaaaally busy over Christmas, I'm sure you understand. And now I have exams coming up so I'm not sure when I can find the time to finish the next bit. Writers block doesn't help much either... xD /excuses**

**Bonus points to Anitoon3 for noticing the song hidden in the chapter titles ^_^ **

**Have a cookie!**

**Thank you so much for all your reviews, all feedback is very welcome. Please keep 'em coming! :P**

**Ok, now to remember where I got to... oh yes!**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

The street was littered with the broken remains of buildings and the still life forms of those unlucky enough to have been in them. Sakura tried to avoid seeing them as she helped usher the panic-stricken villagers into the relative safety of underground passages. It had been a long day and it wasn't over yet.

In the distance, a large and terrifying beast was still laying waste to the village. She braced herself as it let out another roar, causing the ground to shake violently. The tremors would continue for a while yet, weakening the buildings more and shifting the debris on the ground into dangerous waves.

A little girl, no more than five or six, lost her footing and stumbled against Sakura's leg. She looked up in surprise before bursting into tears.

"Oh no no, sweetie, don't cry! It's ok."

Sakura crouched down and allowed her to fling her arms around her neck and bury her face in her shoulder. The tears soaked her clothes but it didn't bother her. She stroked her hair softly and waited.

Eventually the little girl sniffed and extracted herself from Sakura's arms, rubbing the back of her hand across her eyes.

"Sorry Onee-san..." she mumbled, sniffing again.

Sakura shushed her and pursed her lips at the trail of snot coming from the little girl's nose. Fishing in her pocket, she retrieved a tissue and proceeded to wipe the tears and snot from her face, producing muffled sounds of complaint.

"Blow," she commanded, holding the tissue over her nose. The girl blew.

'_Eww_' she thought and discarded the dripping tissue, '_gross! How does one child produce so much of it?!_'

Keeping her face as pleasant and friendly as she could, she smiled at the little girl. "Ok now?" A shy nod was all she got as a reply. "Are you going to be a good girl and go underground with everyone else?" The girl's eyes widened in horror and she quickly grasped hold of Sakura's waist in a surprisingly strong grip and refused to let go.

"Ah, c'mon now, you're being silly, what will your parents say?"

No response. Sakura frowned and tried to prise her off, to no avail.

"Wont your mommy be sad that you're not with her?" she tried another tactic, "Poor mommy." The little girl looked up, all wide-eyed and innocent. '_Bwahaha, success!'_ Inner Sakura punched the air.

She was about to continue the mind game battle with the five-year old when a middle-aged woman came running up, looking around frantically. "Talia!!" she called hysterically, "Talia!"

"Mommy!" the little girl let go of Sakura and ran to her, smiling happily. The woman let out an audible sigh of relief and swept her daughter up in her arms. As she turned to walk back to the underground passages, Talia raised herself over her mother's shoulder and waved. "Bye Onee-san!" she called. Sakura waved back.

And breathed her own sigh of relief as they disappeared from sight. Casting a look around, she searched for any stragglers. Satisfied, she set off to rejoin her friends in the fighting. It seemed the sand village had been planning an attack all along, using their monster as a weapon. Gritting her teeth, she hurtled into a band of sand ninja coming out of a side alley. Taken by surprise, they were easily knocked down, but as a genin she was no match for them.

She was rescued by the appearance of several other ninja. They distracted them long enough for her to escape across the rooftops. Using chakra to power her feet, she weaved quickly between groups of battling ninja, searching for any sign of someone she recognised.

But nobody can run through a battleground unnoticed. Within minutes another sand ninja was on her tail. He held a kunai in both hands and with practised grace threw one at her back.

Sucking in a breath, she dodged just in time and watched it fly straight past and get caught by the same ninja. '_He's fast_!' she thought, half impressed... half concerned.

The two of them were alone on this rooftop. Everyone else around occupied by their own fight. There would be no help this time.

Balancing carefully in her most comfortable stance, she prepared herself and took out her own kunai from a back pocket. Glaring in concentration, she kept her eyes on her opponent, every sense on high alert.

He grinned arrogantly and fell into his own stance. Obviously waiting for her to make the first move. It irritated her that he thought her so little of a threat. She would show him. She narrowed her eyes. Just because she hadn't been entered into the chuunin exams didn't mean she wasn't strong. Far from it.

The sand ninja was not expecting the force of the onslaught the pink-haired girl delivered. He had seriously underestimated her. In almost no time at all, he fell unconscious to the ruined ground below.

Without a backwards glance, Sakura continued to make her way closer to the monstrous rodent that blocked out part of the sky. It was incredible that something could be that big. With little effort, it could just step forward and entire buildings would be reduced to rubble.

Instinct told her that her team would be nearest _it_... him... whatever. Or what was left of her team anyway, which meant Sasuke. Kakashi could be anywhere.

For the hundredth time that day, she wondered where the hell Naruto was. '_Naruto you stupid dimwit, we need you_...' Despite the combined efforts of herself and Kakashi, they had been unable to find the blond the day he disappeared. Or the day after. Or the day after that. They had, as depressing and disappointing as it was, been forced to give up.

Kakashi had ensured her that he was still searching in his free time; not to give up hope. But every day she showed up for a mission, expecting him to come running up, his stupid grin plastered across his face. And every day... he never did. Hope was beginning to run dry.

* * *

He sat and watched the destruction of Konoha from his vantage point in the uppermost branches of a tree, chewing a cheek in consternation. It was a little known fact that foxes could climb trees. Actually they couldn't, but he wasn't your average fox. One tail was looped over the branch he was sat on and the other two slowly waved in graceful arcs, evidence of his inner turmoil.

It was a problem. He shouldn't care what happened to the village. After all, it was they who treated him so badly his entire life... entire life? He frowned. No, just the past few years since he'd been sealed, which was their fault too. He should feel angry and hate them all! But he didn't. What was wrong with him?

He growled at himself and grabbed his hair with both hands in frustration. He was mixing his two selves up! '_This can't be good'_. Releasing his head, he looked down at his hands. They curled into claws, but were otherwise still human-ish.

'_Who am I_?'

'**You're **_**you**_** stupid kid**!'

He jumped and almost lost his place on the branch had his tail not locked him in place.

'_Who... what was that_?' He blinked and looked around.

The voice sighed. It came from _inside_ his head. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on it. It was the presence he'd felt at the back of his mind all this time! He prodded it with his mind.

'**Oi**' it said, annoyed.

'_Who are you_?' he repeated. Clearer this time.

'**You know who I am**,' it replied smugly.

'_No... I don't... really'_

'**You know... sometimes your stupidity really gets to me. I'm the all mighty, great and powerful Kyuubi no Kitsune!'**

'_No you're not'_

'**Am too**'

'_Not_.'

'**AM**!'

'_You can't be'_

'**Why not**?'

'_Because IM Kyuubi'_

The voice broke into fits of laughter. '**You..**?!' It seemed unable to continue, it was laughing too much.

Naruto waited impatiently for it to stop. He tapped one long fingernail against the bark of the tree and flicked a tail in irritation.

Finally it managed to calm down long enough to get words out. '**You... are not kyuubi**.'

'_But the Hokage_...'

'**Forget what that old geezer said, although he wasn't completely wrong**.'

'_Eh_?'

'**Basically. You are you, and I am me**.'

'..............'

Kyuubi realised he was going to have to spell this out in very simple terms to make him understand.

'**Alright. To put it as simply as possible, you are Uzumaki Naruto. You were created the instant I was sealed; as my human persona. Are you following?**'

The boy nodded.

'**Good. Now, since that incident a while back...**'

Naruto nodded again. He knew what he was referring to.

'...**we are sharing our memories. You believe you are me because you remember being me, even though you're not**.'

'........... _you've lost me_.'

If it had been possible, kyuubi would have batted the boy over the head with his paw. But the main message had got through.

'_I'm... not you. I'm my own person. I'm Naruto..._' He clambered to his feet. A grin pulled at his features. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" he yelled to the forest at large.

'**Well I'm glad that's all cleared up then'** kyuubi said grumpily.

Naruto was ecstatic. He finally knew who he was. He looked over at the village. '_And Uzumaki Naruto doesn't abandon his friends_.' His face was set in a determined expression as he unwound his tail from the branch and sprang to the next tree. Suddenly he had a thought. '_Why haven't you spoken to me before_?'

'**Hmph. Because you weren't listening, brat**!'

Naruto did not enjoy being called a brat, but chose not to argue back.

'**Wise decision. Well, up until quite recently I was trapped behind the seal, so you wouldn't have been able to hear me even if I had roared at you. Not unless you actually went looking for me**.'

He couldn't think of any reason he would ever want to actively seek out the demon. What a stupid idea.

'**Watch it brat. Anyway, since the seal was weakened somewhat, my consciousness was able to escape the confines of the seal and settle inside yours. Effectively opening a passage for my own chakra to leak into our body and make it my own again**.' The demon fell into a smug silence.

A few minutes later, Naruto caught up. '_Wait, what?! Make it your own? No way, stupid fox. You're not having my body_!'

'**It was mine first brat! And I want it back**.'

'_You can't have it. It's mine_.'

'**It's mine too. Don't be so selfish'**

'_Who's being selfish!?'_

'**There's no point arguing. Things will happen whether you want them to or not... **_**watch out for that tree**_**!!**'

Naruto skilfully avoided hitting the tree by inches; he hadn't been paying any attention to where he was going at all. His instincts were all that kept him unscratched, his tails seeking out branch after branch and swinging him through the forest like some bizarre monkey. Soon he reached the edge of the trees and peered out through the leaves at the main road leading into Konoha.

Bodies littered the area and cracks pierced the road in jagged lines. Nothing moved, but his sharp ears picked up the sound of fighting from further in. Careful not to draw attention to himself, he crawled down the trunk of the tree and kept his stomach near the ground as he made his way through the grass.

As he neared the first human form he sniffed cautiously. '_Always best to be sure'_ he mused. It was cold... lifeless. There was nothing alive in the area; he was safe. He registered the unfamiliar design on the forehead protector. '_Another village attacked then_.'

'**Obviously**.'

'_Are you going to annoy me the whole time_?'

'**Maybe**.' Naruto was sure it was grinning when it said that. He snorted. '**Careful now kid, you don't know how strong these people are.**'

'_Oh? Are you worried about me, fox_?'

'**No, stupid brat, I'm worried about my body. Don't lose any limbs alright? I'm going want to use them later.'**

Naruto smirked inwardly as he continued on all fours through the broken gate. Ears and nose on high alert, ready for anything. Shukaku roared again, causing shards of debris to rain down. Protecting himself from the worst of it with his tails, he looked over in the direction of the monstrous racoon.

'_Better deal with that first_,' he decided.


	8. Chapter 8: No!

**For those people (myself included) who like to listen to music while reading, I suggest "Counting Bodies like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums" by **_**A Perfect Circle**_** or "Coming Undone" by **_**Korn**_** ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Kakashi was no stranger to battles. He'd fought in the wars years ago, watched friends die, killed many people. But still he felt fear. It was as though nothing could possibly prepare anyone for such torments. Looking around, he saw no sign of living enemies. His recently dispatched opponent lay at his feet, eyes not quite shut. He avoided looking at it. '_Mustn't feel regret. Mustn't feel regret_,' he repeated over and over in his mind. To regret would mean guilt and his mind couldn't take any more of that. Nobody's could. War was a terrible thing.

A short scream of terror was suddenly cut off. He turned in the direction the sound had come from and sprinted across the roofs towards it, a fresh kunai in his hand. If he couldn't save the person, the least he could do was avenge them.

He dropped down to the street and stared down at the bodies on the ground. All of them sand ninja. Obviously the screams had come from them. '_Odd,_' he thought, as he crouched down to get a better look. It was almost as if they'd been killed by some wild animal. Bite marks and scratches had ripped them to pieces. He frowned as he felt something nag at the back of his mind. '_It can't be_...'

Turning, he surveyed the ground properly. Dust from the ruined buildings coated the entire street, except for the multitude of footprints. All the tracks from shoes apart from one. A series of four; that of a person walking barefooted on all fours.

The nagging was growing stronger, pulling at him. He took off, following the tracks. They were leading towards Shukaku.

'_I have to get there before he does_!' he dreaded to think what might happen if the boy came across his classmates.

'_Naruto_!'

* * *

Shikamaru paused for a moment to catch his breath. Leaning against what was left of a wooden wall, he wiped the sweat from his brow with a sooty arm and surveyed the situation. Usually his mind would be alive with ideas; exploring every possibility, every course of action, every consequence. Plans would line up in their hundreds. But this time he was at a loss.

They'd tried everything. Attacked from every angle, used every jutsu known to each of them, and yet the creature seemed unaffected. It barely flicked an eyelid at them as it went about its destructive business. Their weapons rebounding harmlessly off its thick hide.

Time was running out. He needed to come with something _fast_. Soon, they would all be too exhausted to do anything.

He sneaked a look round the edge of the wall. Sakura, Sasuke and Hinata were crouched behind an overturned cart not far away. On the other side of the road he caught a wave from Kiba, who was standing guard over a wounded Ino. She didn't appear badly injured, there was still colour in her face. Akamaru gave her knee a quick nuzzle and she scratched behind his ears.

The rest were scattered haphazardly about the area, some still attempting unsuccessfully to stop the towering beast. Its attention seemed fixed on the building in front of it. Taking this as his chance, Shikamaru jogged over to the group behind the cart and crouched next to Sakura. They nodded to acknowledge his presence, then turned back to the gap through which they were watching the monster tear a roof apart in unconcealed delight.

Just then a warm breeze hit the back of his neck. But it wasn't a nice warm breeze, it was bitter and uncomfortable, like it contained pure malice. Even the little hairs on his arms were standing on end.

The others felt it too. They shifted and looked back over their shoulders; then stopped still as if in shock, their eyes wide. Wondering what had surprised them so much, Shikamaru also turned and had to do a double-take.

The creature in the middle of the road was stood on all fours, its nails scratching deep gouges in the brickwork. Its eyes were glowing a blood red and narrowed to slits and its large, furry ears lay back in anger. Three tails swung behind in vicious circles. Its entire body was encased in crimson chakra that swirled around and gave off such a heat that Shikamaru was surprised the street wasn't melting.

It growled softly in its throat and he shivered uncontrollably. Nothing, not even the giant racoon behind him, was this scary. '_If bloodlust and malevolence had a physical form, this would be it'_ he thought to himself as he fought to regain control of his limbs.

Beside him, Sakura was as white as a sheet and sweating visibly. He sympathised entirely, this new creature was...

He was cut off when Sakura suddenly whispered, "he looks so familiar..."

Frowning, he looked again.

He was sure he would have remembered seeing something like that and shook his head, "no, you're imagining it".

"I'm sure of it..." she bit her lip and regained some of her composure. Enough to lean forward slightly, as though that could help in any way.

They were not the only ones to notice the newcomer. Kiba and Ino looked on with expressions similar to their own, and Akamaru growled warningly, hackles raised.

Shukaku, had also reacted.

Shuffling his massive bulk, the boy-turned-demon racoon turned fully to scrutinize the new arrival. Sneering down at it from its towering height.

The red creature appeared unfazed by this and proceeded to crouch down further as though preparing to spring, its tails dragging along the ground and whipping up blocks of the road into the air that literally disintegrated as they met the chakra barrier.

Shukaku growled then, deep and menacing in his throat. The red creature retaliated with a bursting roar of his own, easily matching the earth-trembling roar that Shukaku had previously used. What was left of the buildings around them shook but held firm. Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief.

It was then that Kakashi leapt onto the scene.

Seizing a broken pole from the ground the masked jounin skidded to a halt a little way behind the red creature, breathing heavily. Ignoring the immense beast facing him, Kakashi drew in a deep breath and yelled, "STOP NARUTO!"

The shock was so much, time appeared to actually slow down and his heart to stop beating for just a second. Naruto? Shikamaru looked at him. Then properly _looked_ at him. It _was_ Naruto!

Even under all the crimson chakra and bizarre features... it was still the blond idiot. Shikamaru couldn't think of a time where he'd been more stunned than he was right then. It was a similar story with his friends. A mix of horror, disbelief and astonishment showed on their faces. He couldn't quite believe it himself. '_Naruto? But he's no monster...'_

At Kakashi's words, Naruto rose to sit up on his haunches and look back at him. His teeth bared in a feral snarl, he glared threateningly at him. The masked jounin took a step back, then rallied his determination and beckoned to him. "That's enough, Naruto. Come back."

Naruto snorted, which erupted as smoke as the air hit the chakra surrounding him and turned back to Shukaku, who was watching the exchange with some amusement.

"Do NOT fight that demon, do you understand me? Your seal can't handle it"

Naruto ignored him.

"_Look_ at yourself! What you're doing to yourself. Stop it NOW!"

Naruto cast a last look over his shoulder, but that was all he was allowed to have as Shukaku finally acted and slammed a large fist into the ground where he'd just been standing.

Springing from a wall, Naruto launched himself at Shukaku's head and sank his inches long fangs into his nose.

Shukaku screeched in pain and batted the boy off. He landed on all fours and took off for another attack. Shukaku tried in vain to land a good hit, but Naruto was just too small and fast. He ducked through his legs and up his arms, biting and clawing as he went.

Roaring in frustration, Shukaku healed the more painful wounds with his sand and whipped his tail around. It happened too fast for Naruto to dodge. He was slammed into the ground and skidded for a good few paces. The crater was deep enough to have cracked the water pipes beneath the road and water was seeping around him. It hissed and turned to steam as his chakra erupted around him, stronger than before. An even more concentrated mass of rage and malevolence that grew bigger and bigger until there was no sign of Naruto at all in the swirling tempest.

Shukaku licked his lips in triumph and took a step forward to claim his prey.

Kakashi, Kiba, Ino and the others chose that moment to join them behind the cart. As poor a defence as it was, the cart was the ideal place to watch while remaining undetected.

The massive racoon stepped closer and reached a clawed hand towards the crater.


	9. Chapter 9: Dont!

**In case you're all wondering, Shukaku appears to be stronger than Nibi was ONLY because he is using his chakra at its (very small) maximum and generally relying on brute strength, whereas Nibi was restricted by Danzo's control. All cleared up? Good.**

**Enjoy this next chapter, took me long enough lol ^_^**

**I cut short the previous chapter because it seemed like a good place to stop and I hate to keep you all waiting, I know how frustrating it is. Anyways, keep those reviews coming! 3**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

It happened so fast, Kakashi barely had time to follow it. A blur of enraged red fur slammed into Shukaku's chest, knocking him back a bit and sending sand into the air in cascades. The burning crimson chakra that encased the furious demon boy swirled and tore into the giant racoon's flesh, forming a crater similar to the one he'd just sprung from and wrenching a howling scream of pain and anger from Shukaku.

Recovering from the shock and the pain, Shukaku slashed viciously at the creature embedded in his chest, but his claw was stopped just a few feet away by a large red-orange tail that wrapped tightly around it, preventing it from moving anywhere. He tried again with the other claw. Another tail wrapped around that one. He tried to bite. Another tail encircled his neck, choking him.

The tails were strong. They were unmoveable.

Shukaku looked visibly concerned by this. His eyes widening and panic beginning to set in. Naruto hadn't budged from his chest, his sharp fangs and powerful jaws ripping and biting; his claws securely rooted in the sand of his skin.

Even with the sand regenerating the wounds, the hole kept getting bigger. It just wasn't fast enough. The great racoon's chakra reserves were beginning to run low and more and more sand fell to the piles at his feet.

In a last effort to dislodge Naruto, Shukaku whipped his tail around, intending to pummel the boy to death. A fourth tail intercepted it, bringing it to a halt metres away.

Kakashi blinked. Fourth tail? Yet another tail flicked beneath the mass of twisting limbs. '_FIVE tails_?!'

The situation was worse than he had thought. Naruto had already past half way, it was unlikely there was any humanity left at all.

Crimson chakra billowed thickly. Too thick to really make out much of what was inside it, but Kakashi was willing to bet it wasn't human shaped.

Shukaku was at breaking point. He could barely breath and neither his tail nor his arms could be moved. He flung himself around in a vain attempt to crush or dislodge his attacker. To no avail. He smashed himself repeatedly into the ground.

But Naruto refused to be moved. His chakra protected him from the impacts. It wasn't as if he needed to conserve any chakra like most people did, he had more than enough to literally reduce the giant racoon demon to the sand he came from. But he didn't. He enjoyed tormenting him instead. Taking malicious glee in the demon's pain and suffering. He was, completely and absolutely, a monster.

Kakashi didn't know what to do. The teenagers around him all had equal expressions of horror and alarm. They didn't know what was going on, why Naruto was acting this way. Why he wasn't Naruto anymore. There was nothing he could do. He had never felt so inadequate.

Shukaku was growing steadily weaker. His eyes looked to be going out of focus and he was visibly shaking.

With a mighty crash, the great racoon fell to what could only be described as his knees, if racoons had knees, and collapsed onto his side in a cloud of sand that settled everywhere.

Slowly, Naruto withdrew his tails from around Shukaku's neck, claws and tail; allowing them to fall with soft thuds into the sand, and his chakra receded back into his fur. Grinning triumphantly he turned away and padded towards the overturned cart and its terrified occupants.

For a brief moment Kakashi wondered why he'd just left Shukaku there, but decided he had no idea what went on in a demons mind and couldn't ever possibly understand the reasoning behind it all.

Close up and without the chakra shrouding him, Kakashi could now finally see Naruto in his five tailed form.

He looked exactly like a fox should look.

A giant fox. With five tails.

Kakashi stood cautiously and made to step out from the cart. A hand shot out and grabbed his arm. He looked around in surprise into the emerald green eyes of Sakura. They were filled with fear and a sincere insistence.

"Don't go," she whispered. Her voice trembled and her fingers were white where they gripped his arm. "Don't. Don't go," she repeated.

He gently prised her off and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. The others had turned and were regarding him with varying degrees of panic and curiosity.

"It will all be ok. He's Naruto, he won't hurt us." He wished with all his being to believe his own words. But he knew he couldn't. He just couldn't.

It seemed they didn't believe him either, but Sakura didn't try to stop him a second time. She watched as though he was walking to his death, pale and trembling. With a practised effort, he hid his fear and walked confidently out into the open to confront the boy-turned-demon fox.

He was so large, even on four legs Naruto was at eye level with him. Looking into those red dilated eyes was like staring death in the face. Kakashi schooled what was noticeable of his expression to neutral and approached warily, his hands in plain sight. There was no chance for him at all if he did decide to attack. Five tails would channel an unbelievable amount of chakra.

Stopping a few metres away, he tried to give a placating and friendly impression while forcing himself not to run away in terror. Naruto stared him down, his expression unreadable. Though Kakashi wasn't sure whether that was because his face was fox-shaped and therefore limited in expression or not.

Behind them, Shukaku had gradually reduced in size and had returned to his human form. Unconscious and severely injured, he lay still as his sand seeped in to see to his wounds.

Kakashi steeled himself and drew in a deep breath. "Naruto..." he began.

Suddenly the air was full of black cloaks and at least three dozen ANBU officers appeared around them. A few of them collected the fallen Gaara, binding his arms behind him and stuffing him unceremoniously into a sack.

Stunned by the sudden appearance, Kakashi was caught off guard and couldn't move. This was not the case for Naruto. Seething with repressed rage, he swung his tails at the nearest group. They were thrown across the street and into an unstable brick wall. It cracked loudly, then collapsed over their prone forms.

Without warning, several ANBUs revealed thick ropes and attempted to restrain the raging demon. He picked them up in his tails and swung them around. Throwing them into the ground or a wall. Swinging them into each other, knocking them down. But they just kept coming.

A rope was somehow placed around his neck, another around his left hind leg. Off balance, he stumbled and roared in frustration, snapping at anything that got too close to his jaws. He tried to naw at the rope, but another rope snaked around his neck, preventing him from doing so.

Kakashi wondered why he wasn't using his chakra. Surely he could just blast them all to smithereens. Looking closely he could see the same thought crossing his mind. But something was wrong. His chakra wasn't being formed!

Rough hands grabbed Kakashi and dragged him out of the way as Naruto disappeared under a sea of black cloaks.

In what seemed like no time at all, the ANBU had disappeared. Taking Naruto and the sack containing Gaara with them.

Kakashi just stood there in bewildered silence.

A few moments later he felt a soft hand touch his arm. He looked down at a concerned Sakura. The other teenagers were also reappearing from behind the cart, gradually coming to terms with what had just happened. Already they were grouping around him, searching for answers. They weren't going to let him go until he told them everything.

He sighed and brushed a hand through his silver hair. '_At least the battle should be over now' _he thought. Without their beast at the frontline, the sand village ninja would be forced to retreat.

Adjusting his thoughts, he turned to regard them all, then launched into the full story of the nine tailed fox.

* * *

It was dark and smelled weirdly of potatoes.

That was because his head was currently trapped inside a potato sack. For some reason the humans didn't want him to know where he was going. All four of his paws and all five of his tails were bound together and to the thick stick that was dragging him along the rough floor. Judging by the feel of it, it was a stone paved floor.

It was very frustrating to him not to even be able to _smell_ where he was going. Even sounds were muffled through the thick sack material. Not that there were many. His captors were remarkably silent. He would have thought they'd at least have been bragging to each other about bringing down a demon as mighty as he was.

That was even more frustrating. To think that mere humans had overpowered him! It set his teeth on edge and he growled again. He remembered it vividly. The feeling of grasping at nothing. At the very instant he needed it, his chakra had failed him. He frowned to himself and sucked absently at a fang as he thought hard. That was something he tended to do when deep in thought. He also tended to scratch his ear, but that wasn't possible right then, since his scratching leg was attached to the stick.

It was odd that he couldn't form chakra back then. It was as if the seal had suddenly returned in full force, trapping him in the form he was in, but completely powerless. Something must be wrong with it.

He sent his mind towards it and almost immediately encountered resistance.

This was weird too. The resistance wasn't the same as before. He should know, he'd been trapped behind it for 12 years. This resistance felt... different.

Before, it had carried traces of its caster, the fourth Hokage, as any powerful jutsu does. An essence of their intent; their will.

This time, the traces were most definitely _not_ the fourth Hokage's. They felt... wrong somehow. As if the intent behind them was rotten.

His subconscious sniffed at it curiously, then retreated back to the safety of his mind. His human persona watched inquisitively, expecting him to explain everything... yet again.

Snorting at him, he settled down with (if they had been physical forms) his back facing him and completely ignored him. He could feel the disappointment and irritation this caused and felt smug about it. He enjoyed annoying Naruto; it gave him something to do when he was bored.

Vaguely aware of what was going on physically, he allowed Naruto to retake control of the body and went to sleep. Hopefully something more interesting would happen when he woke up. He had been happy to fight Shukaku today, it had brought back such fond memories. Remembering the last time he had seen the one-tailed, he smiled to himself and slipped into pleasant demon-butt-kicking dreams.

* * *

Danzo was literally bouncing on his toes in delight.

Three demons. Three!

He had three of the nine most powerful monsters in existence caged here. Two of them now under his control, it wouldn't be long now before the third was too.

Locking the door to Shukaku's prison he ushered the two ANBU guards to their positions on either side. They had their instructions, and would follow them to the letter. They knew what would happen should they fail at anything.

He swept down the corridor, his steel capped boots making loud clicking sounds against the cold stone floor. He strode past another guarded door. Nibi had been no trouble since that incident with the kyuubi. He had kept her seal to a minimum and left her in her cage. She wouldn't protest. She had learnt by now to obey him.

The kyuubi would be more challenging, but that's what made it all fun. He would break him. One way or the other. The boy could not resist him.

Chuckling ominously to himself, he approached a third guarded door at the bottom of the corridor and inserted the key.

* * *

Sakura landed on her bed with a huge sigh. It had been a long and eventful day. She had learnt things she could never have guessed at. Met not just one, but _two_ powerful demons. Discovered that one of them was, in fact, her teammate. She struggled to gain control of her thoughts. They tumbled over each other in waves. Everything was just so confusing.

She was beginning to get a headache so she reached for the bag of medicine she kept by her bedside for just such an occasion.

Taking deep soothing breaths, she considered her feelings. Surely she should hate him. The kyuubi. Naruto. He was a demon. An evil monster. He had tried to destroy the village. And yet she just couldn't bring herself to hate him. She was scared yes, terrified in fact. But every time she thought about it, the image of his idiotic grinning face flashed in front of her eyes. There was no way she could consider him evil.

Rubbing her eyes she cast her gaze around her room and it landed on the item on her dresser. The emerald green hair comb he had given her all those weeks ago for her birthday. It matched her eyes perfectly. That had seemed so long ago. To think so much could happen since then. He had disappeared and then returned as a terrifying demon.

She fiddled with her hair and chewed her lip. It was all so confusing.

Obviously the Hokage must have ordered the ANBU to detain Naruto, to stop him going out of control like Gaara had. '_I wonder where they took him_,' she though, and gazed out of her window, lost in thought.

'_I shouldn't worry_,' she chastised herself, '_he's a demon, what could happen? Why the hell am I worried?_'

For some reason she just couldn't shake the anxious feeling inside her. '_I'll go see him when they let him go_,' she decided. They wouldn't let him go until they were sure he was in control. She could confront him then. Tell him what an idiot he was. How upset she was that he hadn't told her who he was...

He had kept it from her. His secret. For so many years.

Angrily, she stood and stormed down the stairs to raid the fridge. She needed something sickeningly sweet and unhealthy to set her mind at rest. Nothing calms a girl like chocolate ice cream.

Grabbing the first tub she could find she slammed it forcefully onto the table and attacked it furiously with a spoon.

* * *

**((Mmm chocolate ice cream...... xD))**


	10. Chapter 10: Leave Me to Die Here

**Chapter 10**

At the sound of the key in the lock, Naruto scrambled to a sitting position with his nose between the bars. He was hungry, oh so very hungry. It had been days since he'd last eaten. Danzo had been displeased with him when he'd refused to do what he said and withheld his food. He was beginning to miss even that foul, disgusting mush they brought him.

The door complained loudly as it was slowly pushed open, revealing a shadowy figure carrying something. Naruto sniffed; it was food! His single remaining tail started wagging, before he irritably ordered it to stop. He was not a dog.

The figure stepped into the room, the flickering torchlight illuminating his features. Danzo was smiling in that fake friendly way. The way he always smiled before causing Naruto unimaginable pain.

Wary now, Naruto backed away from the bars a little, his ears flattened against his hair.

He remembered the first time he'd met Danzo...

_The cage was far too small. He barely made it four paces before reaching the other side. Snarling at nothing in particular, he swung all five of his tails at the bars. It made an unsatisfying clanging noise that rang in his ears for several minutes afterwards. Groaning, he sank to his haunches and buried his snout in his forepaws._

_He wished Kyuubi would say something, but the stupid fox was sleeping soundly in the back of his mind. Most of all, he wished he could talk to his friends. They must hate him, he realised; he could still see their horrified expressions. He had never felt so... alone._

_The sound of footsteps echoed from behind the closed door. Pricking his ears up, he watched curiously as an old man entered the room, most of his left side covered in bandages. He sniffed, the man's scent was strangely familiar... had he met him before?_

"_Good evening, Naruto" the man said pleasantly._

_Naruto blinked. It was evening already? How had time passed so quickly._

"_I am Danzo, did you have a pleasant trip?"_

_Naruto couldn't quite believe the old man was actually trying to have a pleasant conversation. A pleasant trip? The nerve of him._

_He growled deep in his throat._

_Danzo's eyes narrowed and his smile took on a more threatening tone as he stepped closer._

"_You will be silent. I am your master now, and you are my servant. You will obey my every command, understood?"_

'_**Insolence! Tear his head off! Eat his rotten insides! Make a mess of his guts on the walls!**__' Kyuubi raged inside. Naruto rolled his eyes, but half-agreed with the demon. This guy, Danzo, was an idiot if he believed he would actually obey him. He didn't even obey the Hokage half the time. He straightened and stared defiantly at him._

_The motion was not lost on Danzo. He raised his right arm, and began removing some of the bandages from his left one._

"_I had hoped you'd be a little more cooperative Naruto."_

_The bandages fell to the floor, revealing a strange symbol etched into the skin on the back of his left hand. It looked like a seal; very similar to the one Naruto had himself on his stomach._

"_It seems you have given me no choice, Naruto, I will have to show you the power I have over you."_

_He made a series of hand signs and placed his right hand over the symbol. As he turned it slightly Naruto suddenly convulsed in pain._

_It was agony; as if a thousand knives had pierced his flesh. He howled and tore at the floor. There was a cracking sound and then it was over._

_Breathing heavily, Naruto looked up at Danzo who was busily replacing the bandages with a smug expression._

"_So you see? Even your chakra is under my control, you cannot do anything. You are mine!" That last statement was uttered through clenched teeth just inches from Naruto's face. Then he turned on his heel and marched out._

_At the door he turned back as though just remembering something. "Ah yes. And do not even consider trying to escape. You will fail and you will be punished."_

_The door thudded shut with an ominous finality._

_Naruto looked down at his now human shape, albeit still with one tail and fox ears, and fought back tears._

"Have you reconsidered your actions now, Naruto?"

His attention snapped back to the present. Danzo was standing arrogantly just in front of the bars, holding a bowl of dog food in one hand.

"Hungry?" he asked, as he saw Naruto drooling.

Abandoning pride, Naruto nodded quickly. Danzo laughed. An evil, spine-tingling sound that sent the hairs on the back of his neck prickling.

"Itadekimasu" he said sarcastically and placed the bowl down a metre away from the bars, just out of Naruto's reach. Then he swept from the room, closing the door and locking it again.

Frowning in frustration, Naruto tried in vain to reach it, but even his tail fell short. Giving up with a sigh, he retreated to the back of the cage so he wouldn't smell it so much.

The demon in the back of his mind stirred.

'**Boy, I have a plan.'**

* * *

Shikamaru angrily paced his room. He didn't usually succumb to anger; it wasn't something that contributed to anything. It was a waste of time that got in the way of logical thinking.

He kicked his chest of drawers and winced in pain. _'See?'_ He thought. _'Complete lack of logic and common sense.'_

He hobbled over to a chair and sat down. A few moments later he got up and started pacing again. Another thing anger made him; restless. He couldn't seem to sit still for longer than five minutes and it made him want to punch something. Or someone.

He really really wanted to punch Naruto.

The idiot. The IDIOT, had made a fool out of him. Him, Shikamaru, had been outsmarted by an incompetent dimwit. It made him so angry.

How could he have missed something so obvious? All the signs had been there. The bizarre sitting position, the marks on his face, the appetite, the weird habits. It all made sense now. He was a demon fox; and he had somehow kept that hidden for all those years.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. He shouldn't be blaming Naruto. It wasn't really his fault. He had chosen to ignore the signs, it was self-disappointment that made Shikamaru angry. Disappointment in himself.

Taking deep breaths, he opened his bedroom door and headed outside. If there was anything to take his mind off feeling angry, it was a good game of Shogi, even though he always won it was nice to feel that sense of accomplishment. He went looking for Asuma.

* * *

Sasuke rarely thought of anything except training or revenge. He thought a lot about revenge. He planned out all the different ways he'd make his brother suffer. All the different methods of killing him. Slowly, quickly, it didn't matter.

This time, however, he wasn't thinking of either of those.

He was thinking of a blond-haired idiot with a loud mouth and constant grin. He was thinking of all the insults he'd ever thrown at him, all the thoughtless backhand comments he'd ever made; all the times he had hurt the boy. Naruto. The kyuubi. The two names still didn't seem to fit together. Try as he might, Sasuke couldn't picture his teammate as an evil raging demon, even though he'd seen the proof right in front of his eyes not so long ago.

The memory of the huge beast encased in burning chakra was still etched in his mind. But it wasn't Naruto, it couldn't be Naruto. There was no way it was true. He had never felt so scared in all his life, and that was saying something.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then looked up suddenly as an earth-shattering howl filled the air. He covered his ears to block it out.

* * *

The howl echoed across the valley; across the forest; into a small hole under a tree root. A small nose poked out, sniffing inquisitively, checking the coast was clear before fully emerging from its den. Ears came next, homing in on the strange noise. Then small paws and the rest of the body of a young fox.

It took a few cautious sniffs, eyes darting around, looking for any sign of danger. Satisfied, it bounded swiftly through the forest undergrowth.

Another howl echoed from up ahead, growing louder as the fox scampered closer. It stopped for a few minutes to listen, then carried on, angling to the left where the howling originated.

It jumped tree roots and darted around traps laid out on the forest floor. It had learnt early on in its life to avoid these things. Many of its litter-mates had been taken by the hunters; their furry pelts used to clothe them or sold on to rich families.

The scent of humans grew stronger. It was nearing their den.

Suddenly it came across a large square building set into a cliff face. The noise came from inside, but the door was firmly closed, there was no way in.

The little fox's poor primitive mind had just one thought, and that was to follow the howling. The howling called to it, pulled at its inner self, forcing it to go there. Completely trusting in its own instinct, the fox padded up to the door and started to scratch. It assumed the problem could be overcome the same way an obstructive tree root could be. By digging round it.

A few minutes later, it pricked its ears up at a new sound. Footsteps on the other side of the door. Survival-instinct kicked in and it scampered to the side, out of sight, and crouched down to wait. Sure enough, the door opened and an ANBU officer stepped out clutching a message, but the little fox didn't pay attention to this. It was already disappearing down the corridor, its tail whipping round the corner.

There was no more howling, but a familiar scent pulled the little fox in the right direction. The scent of a comrade, another fox. No doubt the source of the howling.

It scurried down corridor after corridor. Its tiny padded paws making soft pattering sounds on the cold stone floor. Sometimes a human walked past, but they never noticed its small form hiding in the shadows. Within minutes it had reached another thick wooden door. The scent was so thick, the other fox must certainly be on the other side.

The little fox scratched a little at the stone, but soon gave up. It knew a lost cause when it saw it. Retreating to the side, it sat on its haunches and waited.

The door creaked open and a large pair of feet strode out. Taking its chance, the little fox darted between them and through the decreasing gap between the door and the doorframe. Luckily, the human didn't notice him and proceeded to lock the door as the little fox padded across the room to the huge steel bars of the cage.

* * *

It had been a risk, and thankfully the punishment had been a mere battering with a stick, but it had paid off. Kyuubi surveyed the little fox on the other side of the bars with a mix of pride and smug satisfaction. Everything was running smoothly and to plan.

'**Alright, watch this boy! This is how it's done.'**

'_Kyuubi?_'

'**What is it brat?**' he asked impatiently.

'_Promise you'll come back and get me?'_

'**I said I would didn't I?! Sheeeesh**.'

'_Promise me!_'

'**Alright I promise.'**

'_Sure?'_

'**I give you my word, and that's something I never go back on! My pride would never allow it.'**

'_Ok, I just...'_

'**Spit it out brat,**' he replied gruffly. He was getting impatient now; so close to freedom he could almost taste it.

'_I don't want you to go_,' he said softly.

Kyuubi rolled his eyes, but felt his heart twist. '**What you want me to stay and hold your hand?'** he teased.

'**I'll be back before you know it kid, and I'll get you out of here. I swear. Just put on your brave face and you promise me something yeah?'**

'_What?'_

'**Don't you DARE give up, you hear? Don't you **_**DARE**_**. If you do I'll tear you to pieces myself. Never give in to that bastard.'**

Naruto smiled. '_I promise, Kyuubi_.'

Kyuubi grunted and turned his attention back to the little fox, who was sitting patiently on the other side, watching him curiously. He concentrated hard, forming hand signs as he remembered them, which was a whole lot easier with human hands, he realised. The ground beneath them began to glow; a shape forming that connected the little fox with the larger Naruto-kyuubi. The world erupted into lights and sounds that swirled in a circle around them both, encasing them, blocking out everything else. It escalated into a mass of blinding white and deafening noise until suddenly everything ceased and the world was plunged back into dark silence.

Blinking to clear the spots from his eyes, Kyuubi stretched to ease his sore muscles and waited for his eyes to readjust to the darkness. A shape loomed before him, hidden behind huge steel bars.

Naruto looked back at him sadly. "Good luck," he whispered. Kyuubi nodded, then turned and padded back towards the door, pausing only to push the bowl of dog-food closer so that Naruto could reach it. The room was a whole lot bigger when you're small, he thought. Naruto forced back the tears, tilted back his head and let out another heart-wrenching howl, which seemed more like a screech to his ears.

Kyuubi crouched by the door, as footsteps hurried closer and the door burst open. An angry ANBU marched through, leaving the door ajar. It was just enough for him, and Kyuubi squeezed through.

Then in his new, albeit very small, fox body he swiftly headed for the exit and the sweet smell of freedom.

* * *

**((please review :D, thanks for reading!! Next chapter coming sooooooon))**


	11. Chapter 11: Help Me Survive Here

**Me:**** Sorry this took so long! I decided to start writing chapters in advance so there isn't so much of a wait inbetween...**

**Kyuubi:**** you're such a lazy disorganised human, I'm surprised you made it this far...**

**Me:**** *bats him on the nose*shut up**

**Kyuubi:**** OW!**

**Me:**** serves you right**

**Reader:**** ...could you just get on with it please?**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

It was mid-morning when Hinata found herself walking up the road again. The very same road she found herself on every day since Naruto-kun had been taken away. The one she went up every morning and then back down every evening. The road which led to a little food stand tucked away near the edge of the city centre.

She approached the end stool and quickly smoothed out her clothes before settling on it. For some reason she always chose this stool. It reminded her of the warm, happy days spent watching Naruto-kun guzzle ramen from this very place. She smiled at the memory. It was better that way, she knew. To remember the old Naruto-kun; and forget that image of him the day the Sand village attacked.

Not that she really minded. She had always cared about him; and still did. Nothing could change that, not even his species.

Ayame-san smiled at her from where she was stirring ramen. She knew by now that the pretty, shy girl didn't want to talk and most definitely wasn't here for ramen. It was good to know that Naruto-kun had a friend like that, who missed him that much. She watched as Hinata bit her bottom lip and stared at the entrance as though the loud-mouthed blond would burst in at any moment. Ayame felt bad for her, who knew where Naruto was? Or when he would return?

Hinata came and sat in the same stool every day at roughly the same time and didn't move an inch until it began to get dark. It was somewhat worrying. She shared a glance with her father, who gave a small smile and a knowing nod.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Ayame got back into cooking. There was nothing she could do right now. Hinata would snap out of it sooner or later and there were other customers to serve.

* * *

Kakashi was surprised to find Hinata at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop when he arrived. He knew she wasn't a big fan of ramen; yet, he supposed, being a big fan of Naruto was reason enough.

He ordered a large bowl of beef ramen and stole a quick peek at Hinata to see if she was looking. She wasn't. Her attention remained completely absorbed by the street outside.

Sighing with some relief, Kakashi removed his mask. Hinata wasn't watching and Ayame and her father had seen his face before; it was safe to eat in peace. The mask was not a necessity, but he liked to uphold that aura of mystery that surrounded it. It wouldn't do to have everyone know how good looking he was; if what the Icha-icha Paradise book told him was true, women adored the mystery man.

As he savoured his ramen, his thoughts drifted back to the objective of the last few days.

Since Naruto's capture he had spent every waking moment searching for the third Hokage. He couldn't have just disappeared! Sarutobi was easily the strongest most powerful ninja in the entire country; he wouldn't go down without a fight.

Most people had been convinced by Danzo's acting. He did a good impression of Sarutobi, that was true, but Kakashi knew better. Something was up, and he was going to find out what it was. But first he needed to find the real Hokage. '_He could be anywhere' _he groaned inwardly. It would take forever to search everywhere. He had already made pretty sure he wasn't in the village.

Neither was Naruto.

Kakashi had spent equal amounts of time and energy trying to find out where the ANBU had taken him. They couldn't have gone far... not with two raging demons in respective potato sacks.

He considered this for some time. Totally absorbed in his thoughts, he barely registered the absence of ramen.

Ayame noticed, however, and quickly replaced the empty bowl with more beef ramen. It payed to be observant in this business.

Moments later, another Jounin entered the Ichiraku ramen shop.

Gai strode up to the counter and slapped Kakashi on the back, causing the distracted jounin to faceplant in his ramen. He roared with laughter and took the stool next to him, flashing Ayame-san his winning grin. She placed a bowl of ramen in front of him and retreated as quickly as possible. Nobody could stand to be near Gai-sensei when he was in an overly-excited mood.

"Kakashi!!" he exclaimed, "What'cha up to, eh? Been avoiding me lately."

Kakashi wiped the sauce and stray noodles from his face before quickly replacing the mask and turning to look at his friend.

"No not really. I've been busy, you know, doing this doing that."

"Hmmmmmm," Gai wiggled his rather-large eyebrows suggestively. It was a bizarre thing to watch.

"Nothing like that!" Kakashi said quickly, waving his arms to make the point. "I...." he leaned in and whispered "...have been searching for Sarutobi-sama."

Gai lost his grin and his face immediately took on a more serious expression. Casting a quick look around for anyone listening in, his gaze settling on Hinata for a heartbeat, he moved closer and whispered, "me too."

Kakashi raised what could be seen of his eyebrows.

"Obviously you noticed it too. The imposter."

"It's Danzo."

"Reaally?!"

"Yes. I don't know why, but I'm sure as hell going to find out."

"Have you covered much ground yet?"

"Almost the entire village, he's not here."

Gai frowned as he thought for a moment. "There was a leaflet for that new hot springs some time ago... do you think...?"

"It's very likely..."

"Very much like him..."

"Just something he would do..."

They looked at each other. Then as one, stood, paid for their ramen and left quickly. In no time at all they had disappeared at breakneck speed towards the main gates.

* * *

Kyuubi was hungry and cold. He had never felt so hungry and cold in all his life.

It seemed that having such a small body not only came with a ridiculously high metabolism, but also the disadvantage of very little prey. The only thing he had eaten since escaping the night before was a stick thin mouse, barely the size of his paws. And his paws were tiny. Maybe he would have been better off staying in that cage with Naruto.

His stomach growled loudly and he growled back at it.

There was no use feeling self-pitying now. He had to grit his fangs and do something he never, in all his long years, thought he would ever do.

Beg.

He pushed aside the annoying primitive subconscious that whimpered somewhere in the back of his mind as he padded through the entrance to the village of Konoha. The previous occupant of this body didn't have the strength to evict Kyuubi and retake control like Naruto did, but it sure as hell knew how to irritate him just as much.

As he wound his way through the masses of legs, two large humans passes overhead at an astonishing speed and disappeared down the road. Kyuubi thought he recognised one of them. The one with the grey hair and mask covering most of his face.

Shrugging with indifference, he continued on through the crowd, his nose picking up the familiar scents. He tried his best to avoid being stepped on. It hurt quite a bit when a heavy shoe squished his poor tail. He curled it around so it didn't get in the way so much. **'ARGG! It's annoying being small!'**

Although he hadn't bothered to pay much attention to the world when he was trapped inside Naruto, there were certain things that couldn't escape his notice.

One of those things was ramen.

Another of those things was the Ichiraku ramen shop and the free ramen that went with it.

His mouth watered as he thought about it and he quickened his step as he found the right street. The place was down here somewhere...

Nose pressed to the ground, he trotted confidently towards it.

His nose found it before his eyes did. The great stools towered over him and he frowned a little as he considered the best way to attract the owner's attention. He was too small to reach the counter, even if he did manage to get to the top of a stool. Finally he noticed the figure seated in the endmost stool. She was probably the best way, he decided.

He sidled closer and touched his cold, wet nose to her toes. She screeched and almost fell off in a most ungraceful way.

Kyuubi struggled not to laugh and rearranged his features to make himself look disgustingly cute and forlorn. He laid his ears back and made his eyes go big and round, then gave a pathetic whimper.

Amazingly, it worked like a charm. She reached down with that "Aww" sound that all girls make when presented with an adorable furry animal, and gave him a scratch behind the ear. He enjoyed that for a little while, before deciding to up the act a little.

Stretching across her forearm, he laid his chin on her knee, looking up at her, and let out another pathetic whimper or two. His stomach decided to join in at that point and grumbled loudly. He felt very smug about its timing.

"Oh you poor thing, are you hungry?"

'**Well, dur...'**

"Ayame-chan, could I have a big bowl of ramen for this little guy please?"

She picked him up under the forelegs and sat him in her lap, where he settled in the warm comfortable folds of her jacket and waited happily for his ramen. His plan couldn't have worked out better!

* * *

Hinata had nearly jumped out of her skin at the touch of something cold and wet on her toes. Luckily, her ninja training had saved her from making a complete fool of herself.

Looking down at the little fox busily devouring the ramen as fast as it could, she couldn't help but see some resemblance to her Naruto-kun. But that was just because they were both foxes, right?

She shook her head to clear her mind. She mustn't think about that now.

The little fox quickly finished his (fifth) bowl of ramen before sitting back and releasing a noisy, yet still unbelievably cute, burp and licking the sauce from his snout.

She giggled and gently stroked the fur along his back and neck. He seemed to enjoy it, and half closed his eyes in contentment; just like the Hyuuga family cat did. As she thought this, she immediately realised the time. It was nearly midday! She had promised her sister, Hanabi, that she would take her shopping today. It wasn't Hinata's duty to look after Hanabi, they had servants for that, but it was good to get out of the Hyuuga part of the village for once.

Carefully picking up the little fox, which yelped a little at the sudden movement, she placed him back down on the ground and paid for the ramen. Then she leaned down to pet him one last time "goodbye little fox," and turned to leave.

Half-way down the street she noticed the soft padding sound following her.

Looking over her shoulder, she spotted the little fox trailing behind her a few feet from her ankles. As she stopped, it dropped to its haunches and looked up at her hopefully.

"You can't come with me, I'm sorry," she said to it.

It continued to stare up at her, whining softly.

"They won't let you go in, we already have a cat and he doesn't like other animals."

Its eyes filled with tears and it hung its head dejectedly. She stared back disbelievingly. '_No way can it understand what I just said...right?'_

She turned and walked away a few paces, before looking round again to see if it moved.

It was still sat where she'd left it, staring at her with huge, round, tear-filled eyes. It looked so sad and lonely. She was struck with indecision. There was no _real_ reason she couldn't take it home with her. Sure, her father wouldn't be happy with her, but then again he never was. It wouldn't make much difference.

Coming to a decision suddenly, she swiftly strode back and lifted the little fox into her arms in one easy motion; cradling it like a kitten in the crook of her elbow.

"Alright then, but it's just for a little while and you have to be good, ok?"

She could have sworn it nodded at her.

Gathering her wits, she made her way back home again. "Father is not going to be happy," she muttered.


	12. Chapter 12: Alone

**Chapter 12**

Being small and cute certainly had its advantages. Kyuubi snuggled deeper into the girl's jacket where it was the warmest. Not only would he have a comfortable warm place to sleep, but also all the food he could eat! He was looking forward to it.

He wasn't her pet. Oh no, he wouldn't stoop that low. She could do that thing with his ears, that was... oddly pleasant, but he was independent. A lone wanderer. He would do whatever he wanted, like he always did, and not come at her beck and call like some gross dog! He would come and go as he pleased.

Smiling in satisfaction at his own brilliance, Kyuubi took note of where she was going, so he could find his way back again. Being lost in Konoha was _not_ something he was particularly eager for.

She headed up a street flanked on either side by large, fancy buildings. They got steadily bigger and more elaborate as she went.

'**Sheesh, got some rich buggers round here...**' he mused. The next few minutes were spent happily imagining demolishing them.

Finally she paused before a pair of massive wrought iron gates, embellished with the Hyuuga family crest. Sucking in a deep breath and hitching Kyuubi to her chest protectively, she gently pushed open a concealed door in one of the gates and stepped through.

Kyuubi blinked. **'No way... no way she lives here!'**

The house was enormous! And the gardens were beautifully designed, with trees and flowers, ornate fountains with fish swimming around. Even a few tropical birds sang from the branches.

A number of servants bowed to the girl as she hurried past, but she ignored them. She was in a hurry for some reason. Kyuubi didn't care; he stretched his neck round as far as it would allow to stare hungrily at a particularly tasty-looking bird with bright purple plumage. Oh yes. He would definitely like it here.

The gardens disappeared from view as they entered the house.

Room after room after room swept by. Kyuubi tried to keep track, but quickly gave up. It was more of a maze in here than in ANBU HQ. He'd have to explore properly later.

Soon, she reached what must be her room. It was a _lot_ tidier than Naruto's. The bedcovers folded neatly on her bed and all her possessions lined up on her dresser. For a rich girl's room, it was weirdly bare and empty.

Dumping Kyuubi unceremoniously on her bed, the girl hastily tried to catch her breath. He chose not to be annoyed at the lack of respect. She would learn in time.

Smiling down at him, she scratched behind his ears at that tender spot near the base of his skull.

"I have to go, please stay here and be good. Don't go anywhere," she ordered, looking him in the eye. "Please... uh... oh I haven't given you a name..." She considered him for a while, scratching the side of her face absentmindedly. "Hmm, I think I'll call you...."

Kyuubi held his breath.

"... Fluffy."

Kyuubi choked in shock. _Fluffy_?! He stared at her with the utmost disgust and horror, which told her exactly what he thought of that name. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to catch the hint.

"Yes! Fluffy! That's perfect," she clapped her hands together in delight. "Ok then, Fluffy, I have to go shopping with Hanabi, but I'll be back as soon as I can. Just stay in here and don't attract any attention to yourself," she whispered.

Giving him a final pat, she turned quickly and headed out of the door. She paused before shutting it to wave happily at him, then closed it with a click.

Kyuubi listened as her footsteps sounded down the corridor and were joined by a set of smaller feet. Then they too were gone.

Now he had a problem.

There was no way out of the room. The window was too high for him to reach and doors had already presented a major barrier to him. He growled to himself for allowing the situation to get this far. He really shouldn't have been so tempted by human luxuries. Naruto had made him go soft.

Stretching to relieve the aching muscles in his legs, he jumped gracefully from the bed to the carpet and began to explore every scent and corner of the room.

It was just as boring as his first impression had promised.

Apart from the bed and the dresser, there was a large wardrobe, a desk and chair, and a comfy armchair nearer the window.

Clambering up the armchair, he settled on the arm of it with his forepaws on the windowsill so he could peer out. The garden stretched away below him like an exotic paradise that was just out of reach. He whined in irritation. It was frustrating being stuck inside.

He shifted his hindlegs and a paw met something heavy and hard. Examining the object carefully, he realised it was just a book. A large, leather bound book resting on the arm of the armchair. Overcome by curiosity he tried to find the title, but none was apparent. Very curious now, he nuzzled it gently and eased it towards the edge. With a deft flip of his snout it tipped over and landed with a BAM, open, on the floor.

Springing nimbly to land next to it, he stared down at the contents it had opened to. There were just photos. Of Naruto.

Naruto eating. Naruto laughing. Naruto talking to someone. Naruto getting a telling by Iruka. Naruto by a tree. Naruto doing a faceplant (Kyuubi sniggered at that memory). Naruto just walking down a street.

It was weird. **'Is she a pervert? A stalker?'** Kyuubi turned over a page with his teeth. More photos of Naruto doing everyday things. '**She must have followed him around with a camera... definitely suspicious.'**

The entire photo album, as he concluded it was, was full of nothing but random photos of Naruto. Nothing perverted though, he was glad to note. Even if he wasn't the brat, he had lived in the brats body and considered it his own possession.

Unless she had them hidden elsewhere!

Determined now, Kyuubi commenced a thorough search of the room for perverted photos, convinced she would have them somewhere.

* * *

It had been more fun than she'd thought it was going to be. She and Hanabi had visited a great many shops and purchased, using their father's credit card (Hanabi's give-me-or-I'll-have-a-tantrum expression could come in handy sometimes), more clothes and shoes than they could ever wear in a year.

Several bags in each hand, the two girls laughed and chatted as they passed through the gates into the Hyuuga estate, three servants trailing behind them loaded to the limit with the rest of their shopping.

It felt good talking to Hanabi. She was the only one she didn't stutter at, apart from animals. If only she could muster the courage to talk properly to everyone, she might be able to have a proper conversation with Naruto-kun. Someday.

Bidding goodnight to her sister, they parted ways at their rooms. Hanabi slept in the room a few door down, but their walk-in wardrobes were next door. She left the servants to stack the boxes neatly on one side; tomorrow she would spend time avoiding her family by sorting through it. The perfect plan!

Or it would have been the perfect plan, had her father not been standing outside the door when she turned to leave.

He looked down at her with a barely concealed sneer.

"Young women should not degrade themselves in such a way. Spending should be done wisely, you are a disgrace. There will be no more trips to town this week." With that, he turned on his heel and stalked off to say goodnight to Hanabi.

Sighing dejectedly, Hinata slouched off to her room. She was sleepy; shopping was really a very tiring experience. She was looking forward to her nice, warm...

She stopped with one foot still in the air in shock, her jaw dropping.

Her entire room was smothered in several feet of white fluff and feathers. Her pillows nowhere to be seen and, she noted, her armchair was strangely thinner than usual.

Closing the door behind her, she waded into the middle, searching for the perpetrator. As if on cue, a pair of ears appeared from the fluffy sea and rotated. Like a bizarre periscope. She stepped towards him, intent on administering a deserving punishment of some kind. The ears moved away. She followed.

It would have been really funny to watch. A girl struggling through waves of cotton and feathers to catch an escaping pair of orange-red ears. As it was though, she wasn't finding it particularly amusing.

Finally, with a leap, she caught the criminal in a tight embrace and lifted him up to stare him in the eye.

The little fox blinked at her innocently.

"Now what do you suppose I should do? Hmm?" she tried to give him that angry, disappointed look her father often gave her, but her heart just wasn't in it. He was just too cute. She sighed. "We have to have this all cleared up before someone notices and where are we going to sleep?"

The little fox bowed his head as though feeling sorry, but there was no way he understood what she'd said right? She shook her head to clear it. He was going to drive her insane one day.

A gentle knock sounded behind her.

'_Uh-oh!_'

"Um... who is it?" she called.

"It's me, let me in I want to show you my new dress!" replied Hanabi.

Tucking the fox under one arm, she edged the door open a little and stuck her head out. "Oh! Its lovely, it really suits you," she said, looking at the dress. In reality, she thought the Barbie pink dress was hideous. Too many bows and frilly bits.

Hanabi narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "You haven't looked at it properly yet. Why won't you let me in? What are you hiding?"

"Nothing!"

"Liar. You've never been any good at lying onee-san."

Hinata knew she was fighting a losing battle here. Her sister had always been better at everything than her. Sighing, she retracted her head and opened the door fully to allow her to see that scene in her room.

"What the...?! Onee-san, what happened?"

Without saying a word, she held up the fox by his midriff. At least he had the guts to act embarrassed. In accordance with the rule which states that all young females, when confronted by an adorable furry animal, should squeal like an obsessed fangirl and go all gooey-eyed, Hanabi let out a high-pitched screech and started bouncing and reeling out a string of questions.

"He's so cute! Is he yours? Can we keep him? Did mother let you? It's a fox right? Did he do this? What a naughty boy! Is it a boy? What's his name?"

Hinata tried to keep up with nods and shakes but eventually had to give up. Hugging the fox to her chest, she waited for the questions to stop.

"His name is Fluffy," she said.

"...." Hanabi stopped bouncing. "_Fluffy!? _What the hell kind of name is that? How unoriginal."

"I thought it was cute..."

"That's just like you onee-san," Hanabi sighed.

"What would you name him then?"

"I dunno. Whiskers? Georgey? Sweety?"

Kyuubi fixed her with a signature death-stare. Fluffy was bad enough, but _Sweety_? He would rather die first. Thankfully Hanabi picked up on the hint this time.

"Not that then," she smiled, "umm..."

She looked around the room for inspiration, and seemed to come to some sudden realisation. "Onee-san you can't sleep here! Look at it, it would take all night for them to clean up."

"Well I was going to..."

"No no no, this wont do. Where will this little guy sleep?"

She tried to tickle Kyuubi under the chin, but he gently nipped at her finger and she quickly retracted her hand. "You will have to spend tonight in my room," she decided, "come on." She didn't leave Hinata any room for refusal and led the way down the corridor.

* * *

Heaving a great sigh, Kyuubi allowed himself to be passed between the two siblings, petted, brushed and made a fuss of. Not that he minded the attention, it was quite flattering, but he was tired and all he wanted right then was sleep. As he began to nod off, his chin resting on his chest, the moment was completely ruined by a loud and annoying "MEOOOOOOOOWMPH!!!"

"Mr Muggles!" squealed the smaller human, reaching down below his line of sight to retrieve the bane of his existence. A plump white cat.

The cat stared back with a smug expression on its, frankly, quite ugly face.

'_Oh just you wait, I'll wipe that conceited face into the floor, you'll get what's coming to you, cat,_' he silently promised.

The cat, Mr Muggles, gave his tail a swish in unspoken answer, as though taking up the challenge.

"You can share the bed with me onee-san, and this baby can share with Mr Muggles! Don't they make a cute pair? Im sure they'll get along just fine."

'_....what? Oh hell no....'_

He was squished into an expensive-looking designer catbed alongside the infamous Mr Muggles, who meoowphd again in dismay. '_What? You gotta cold_?' There was barely enough room to breathe, let alone move. They eyed each other, sizing the other up. If it came to a fight Kyuubi was sure he would win, but he was still unsure of this new body, he didn't know what its limitations were yet. He couldn't afford to be held back by such an irritation.

He needed to bust out his real body.

Setting aside his disgust for the feline species, he clambered over Mr Muggles to peer over the side of the catbed at the still figures asleep on the bed nearby. When he was sure they were in deep sleep, he extracted himself and headed for the door.

"Meeoooowph."

"**Shhhhhhh!!!"**

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**((:D ahhh poor kyuubi**

**What name do you think he should be given?? REVIEW and let me know :D**

**Otherwise he shall be cursed with the name "Fluffy" for the rest of the story D**

**Kyuubi: "NO! NO PLEASE! DONT LET HER DO IT!! ))**


	13. Chapter 13: Dont, Remember!

**YAY new chapter! :D so long awaited lol**

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**Chapter 13**

The dark room was filled with an oppressive chilled air. It crept down his throat, tightening his vocal cords, like a skeletal hand preventing him from screaming.

Not that he had any desire to scream anymore.

Nobody was coming for him.

He was all alone.

Somewhere a drip of water echoed; the sound reverberating from the thick stone walls. Gaara drew into himself some more, his forehead resting on his knees. Shukaku was silent, which was unusual. The damn monster hadn't said a word since his defeat... how long ago was it? He didn't know. Time passed immeasurably in this place.

At least he wasn't in a cage anymore. The man, Danzo, assumed him beaten into submission and left him here to await his orders. HA! Acting was no problem for the likes of him. A few wimpers here, a few bows of the head there. The guy had no idea he was being manipulated. Well it was his fault for underestimating the host of a racoon demon. He'd learnt a few tricks over the years.

The only frustrating thing was... Danzo had control over his chakra. He couldn't even _attempt _an escape!

He cussed and got to his feet to pace again. Ten steps this way. Ten steps back. Ten steps this way.

He reached the opposite wall and stopped to feel along it. His hand soon found the heavy wooden door, the only entrance and exit to the room. He had a chance if he... but wait, that was too risky, what if he was caught? Danzo would know he'd been tricked.

But what was life without a few risks? He was a trained ninja, death was to be expected, even accepted. If he couldn't even take one risk, then he was not fit to call himself such.

He took a deep calming breath and leant his ear to the wood to wait for oncoming footsteps.

* * *

"Meeoooowph."

"**Oh will you go away you stupid cat!"**

"Meeoooooooooooooooowooowph."

"**Stop following me!"**

"Meowph."

"**Say that one more time, and I'll make damn sure there'll be no mini-Mr Muggles in the future!"**

Sakura paused in her search for her keys and quickly looked up from her bag to cast a furious glare at the person who was being so mean to cats. But there was nobody there. She looked up and down the street in confusion. There must be _someone_ there, she had heard them!

She stepped out from her porch to get a better look and watched with some astonishment as a plump white cat sauntered past in the wake of a furious little orange fox. The fox itself stomped up the road with fur bristled and indignant expression on its face.

All coherent thoughts and logic fled her brain as she jogged to catch up and stand in front of them.

As it finally noticed her presence, the little fox's expression suddenly changed to 'cute and innocent' and it looked up at her. **"Mew?"**

She put her hands on her hips and frowned at it. "Oh no, don't play that game with me mister."

It narrowed its eyes at her. Then lifted its muzzle disdainfully as it strode past, completely ignoring her.

Offended by this obvious snubbing, Sakura marched forward and grabbed the little creature by its fluffy tail, bringing it to her eyelevel so she could stare down at it.

It stared back without blinking, infuriating her even more. She shook it a bit. "Speak! You horrible little thing. What are you?"

"**I'm a fox. Obviously," **he replied in a contemptuous voice.

"I can see that, I'm not stupid."

"**Could've fooled me."**

She gritted her teeth. "Are you a ninja fox? Who trained you? I want to speak to them! I'll give them a piece of my mind..," she growled.

It regarded her for a moment. She could almost see the cogs whirring in its simple little brain. Finally it sighed, and said,

"**Naruto."

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**

The idiot girl seemed lost for words. Kyuubi shifted uncomfortably in her grasp, it just wasn't nice to hold someone by their tail. He looked down at the floor, annoyingly far away and occupied by an even more annoying ball of fluff.

"Meooooowph?" said the fluff.

He glared at it and it gave its tail a swish. Stupid cat. This was all _his_ fault.

But at least he could twist this to his advantage. A human could easily open doors that he couldn't reach. Perfect! A demonic smile pulled at his features.

Finally, the idiot girl found her voice. "Uh... hm... right... yes, ok."

He fixed her with a withering gaze. Honestly, humans could be so dumb sometimes.

"**I'm going to meet him now, are you coming?"**

"I... what?"

"**You said you wanted words. Are you coming?"**

Her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. He tried not to laugh. She seemed to be struggling with the idea, indecision etching lines in her forehead. After several more painful minutes she inhaled deeply, closed her eyes and dropped him. "Yes."

"MEOOOO...mm...mmph!"

"**Owww**," Kyuubi groaned. His tail felt like it had been ripped off, but at least his landing had been soft. Mr Muggles lay spread eagled on the road with kyuubi lying across him with one paw muffling the irritating noises. Gathering himself up, he took a few steps to recover and looked back up at Sakura.

"Yes, I... I'm coming," she repeated.

He nodded and led the way, grinning triumphantly to himself. Mr Muggles shook himself and followed a few paces behind, completely unfazed.

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The alarm hadn't sounded yet, which was good. That meant he hadn't been discovered yet. The guard he'd knocked out now lay in a crumpled heap in the corner of the room he'd escaped from, and would remain there for a good few hours if he was lucky. Luck appeared to be in good supply this day.

Gaara slipped soundlessly past more doors and sped down yet another corridor. Identical to all the others. 'Damn it, where's the exit?'

Footsteps echoed from behind. He quickened his pace, but then more footsteps echoed from in front. Cursing, he slid to a stop and searched for a way out. Only one door could be reached in time. He threw himself at it, his hand groping for the handle.

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Kyuubi led the way out of the village, girl and cat in tow. It would have been an extraordinary sight had many people been around to witness it. As it was though, it was too early for most of the village and only four in total saw them at all.

Pausing only to catch the scent again, he changed direction and went into the trees. Barely a day had passed since he'd come this way before, and yet still his scent was fading. He should have marked the trail or something, he chastised himself.

The cat was being mercifully silent for once, as they weaved their way around trees, over roots, under branches. Paws padding silently over the fallen leaves. Only the girl made even the slightest noise, her boots crunching twigs underfoot with no regard for stealth. But then again, she had no idea this was a rescue mission.

With luck they would pass unnoticed until they got there. If they were unlucky... well at least she served as a distraction.

The sun had risen above the treetops now, casting speckled dots of light over the floor ahead. A sudden brightness caught his eye, something reflecting the sunlight, and he sighed with relief as he manoeuvred around the trap with ease. Traps were to be expected of course, this _was_ ANBU HQ. Not really a tourist resort. He kept his nose out for more, just in case, and cast a watchful eye on the pair following close behind. It wouldn't do to give themselves away too early, though in all probability, they had most likely already been spotted and kept under observation.

Surreptitiously, he tilted his head up to sweep the branches above them for masked figures. None were apparent, but that didn't necessarily mean they weren't there.

The girl sighed suddenly, "is he much further, fox?"

"**Shhhh!"** he replied crossly.

She closed her mouth abruptly; then opened it again with a frown. "Don't you shush me! I'll have you made into a handbag."

"**Will you be quiet! They'll discover us!"**

"Who will?"

"**They will," **he said emotionlessly and pointed behind her with a paw.

Two masked, cloaked ANBU stood behind her with kunai drawn. They didn't appear to be very friendly.

Kyuubi bared his teeth at them and Mr Muggles raised his hackles and hissed. Sakura crouched and drew her own kunai, ready to defend herself. They stood assessing each other for a good few minutes until that unspoken signal sent both ANBU sprinting at the trio to attack.

Sakura dodged the first and parried a blow from the second, spinning round to unleash her own devastating blows. But the ANBU were fast. They ducked and weaved around her kicks and slashes with minimal effort. It seemed they would quickly overpower her; she was no match for them. One of them raised his kunai and aimed for her back as she was distracted by the other; there was no time to avoid it!

Suddenly a flurry of fur and claws assailed his masked face. He yelled and lashed out, sending Mr Muggles flying back a few paces to land on his feet, hissing and spitting. That was all that was needed. Gathering himself, Kyuubi launched himself at the nearest leg and sank his fangs deep into tender flesh.

The ANBU kicked and swung his leg round and round, trying to dislodge the fox, but it was no use. Kyuubi used this method all the time to bring down his prey; there was no letting go once he'd found his grip. Mr Muggles chose this time to join in again; scratching and biting at arms, hands, neck, whatever he could reach. Sakura was entirely occupied with the second ANBU but seemed to be holding her own.

Just then, two more masked figures entered the scene, kunai drawn.

'**Shit,**' thought Kyuubi. How the hell was he going to get out of this mess?

Suddenly a blur sped past, sending both new ANBU spinning headlong into a tree, but it didn't stop there. Bouncing from a branch, the blur swept Sakura's adversary off his feet to land motionless several metres away. Thinking now would be a good time to let go, Kyuubi sprang away from his prey just as the blur collided with it. Both blur and ANBU disappeared into the shadowy canopy and there was silence.

Breathing heavily and tensed for this new adversary, Sakura, Kyuubi and Mr Muggles stood side by side; staring around for the source of the attack. Footsteps crunched through fallen leaves ahead of them and a figure emerged from the shadows.

"You!" exclaimed Sakura, recognising him in horror.

Gaara regarded her for a moment then turned to Kyuubi. "Shukaku thought it was you. He's not said anything for days and then suddenly gets all excited..."

"**Hmph! Thought you'd been taken captive too."**

"We were, but we managed to escape somehow. That place is a maze; it was luck that we found the exit like that."

"**Is Naruto still there?"**

"Don't know, we didn't stick around to explore."

Sakura looked at Gaara then Kyuubi, then back to Gaara. Confusion etching her features. "Huh? What? What the hell is going on?"

They looked at her impassively. Mr Muggles contentedly licked his paws.

"Nothing that concerns you, now silence, the kyuubi and I are talking." Gaara turned back to Kyuubi.

Sakura's mouth was once more trying to become a goldfish.

"I've been experimenting since we escaped, and it seems as long as its just MY chakra we use, Danzo wont sense it. He's connected himself to the seal so he has direct access to Shukaku."

Kyuubi nodded. **"I thought as much."**

"But how is it that you're out here?" Gaara frowned, "how have you become separated from your host?"

He grinned devilishly. **"Its a secret."**

"Surely Danzo would have noticed. He's supposed to be connected to you!"

"**No, he's connected to the seal. My chakra is still locked away inside Naruto, I merely transferred my consciousness into a conveniently present body. The crippled guy wouldn't have noticed more than a surge of chakra that apparently went nowhere."**

Gaara nodded. "Clever."

"**Aren't I?"**

"But now what? You're stuck in that little body, what are you going to do now?"

"**Well first, we're going to rescue my real body."**

"...we?"

"**Yes, you're coming to help."**

"Says who?"

"**Says me."**

"And what if we don't want to. It seems we're better off when our natural enemy is separated from his chakra."

"**Because, if you don't,"** Kyuubi stepped nearer and whispered in a threatening voice, "**I will follow you to the ends of the earth and make your lives a living hell every minute of every day of every year for the rest of eternity."** He lowered his voice even more. **"And you will never find fresh underwear again!"**

"**Besides, I can kick your ass chakra or no chakra," **he boasted confidently.

"Hmph," Gaara crossed his arms and appeared to be thinking about it, "fine whatever." He seemed to be a little paler than usual. "But only if you promise to leave us alone afterwards."

"**Deal,"** Kyuubi agreed, mentally crossing his fingers.

The four of them picked their way through the trees again, with Gaara in the lead, followed by Kyuubi and a contented Mr Muggles. Sakura brought up the rear with a mixed expression of confusion and disbelief, still going for that goldfish impression.

All of a sudden a deafening explosion racked the sky. Smoke and debris rained down from above and a shockwave raced from up ahead to knock them to the ground.

"What was that?" squeaked Sakura, as they struggled to regain their feet and dust themselves off.

"It came from the ANBU building," Gaara replied, squinting into the distance at the cloud of dust rising from the forest. They picked up the pace as they ran towards it.

"**I have a bad feeling about this."

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**Reviews make kitty write chapters! (=^.^=)l**


	14. Chapter 14: Remember!

**Oh god, I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! Real life kinda got in the way and writers block is a killer DX**

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**Chapter 14**

They raced through the trees as an immense shadow fell over the forest. A deep echoing growl reverberated from the cloud of dust and debris, and the earth shook with the force. The mismatched group of would-be rescuers skidded to a halt as the _thing_ in front of them took shape, emerging from the cloud like a ghost ship, and just as terrifyingly. They stared at it with a mixture of horror and disgust. It wasn't a human and it wasn't a fox; it wasn't anything any of them could recognise. A tower of muscle and sinew, skinless and dripping with _something_ that fell and hit the ground with a violent hiss and burst of steam. Knife-like fangs bared in a tight grimace beneath boiling blood red eyes, open wide and bulging with lack of eyelids. It stood, tall and hulking, on all fours, digging its claw tipped fingers into the earth and ripping gaping chasms in it.

Nine tails swung leisurely behind it.

Beside it in a protective circle stood Danzo. His features were twisted in a cruel and triumphant smile as he raised both his arms to the beast.

"Go my pet! Bring fear to their hearts and destruction to their lives! Only then will they truly understand how much they need me!"

Kyuubi narrowed his eyes. He'd heard words like those before. Over a decade ago, spoken by a different, yet equally deranged, man.

Looking up quickly he managed to skip to the side just in time, as the heavy form of Sakura hit the floor with a thump. In a random urge to state the obvious he said, without a hint of emotion, "...she fainted."

"Girls do that," Gaara replied, casting her an unconcerned look.

As they watched, the beast lumbered slowly and awkwardly in the direction of the village. Growls and snarls followed each careful step, as though it were in considerable pain. When it got a few paces away from the destroyed ANBU HQ, Danzo sped through a series of hand gestures and grasped the symbol on his hand, as he had before. Burning red chakra seeped from the beast's stomach; seething and writhing like a living thing, it wrapped itself around it like a cloak. Brighter and brighter it grew as more and more chakra was forced out. The forest around it was reduced to ash and cinders. With a roar of rage and pain, the beast-who-must-be-Naruto launched himself forwards and charged at Konoha.

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_RAGE_... "what am I doing?"... _PAIN_ ... "it hurts"... _FURY_... "I can't see!"... _RAGE ..._"where is everyone?" ..._RAGE_... "why do I feel so angry?" ..._RAGE_... "damn it, what did that bastard do to me?" ..._RAGE_... "damn it!"... _RAGE._

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_The hot springs was a bustle of activity. A steady stream of happy visitors came and went, the weight of their lives lifted for the brief time they spent in the baths.

Madame Baudoin, the well-endowed owner of the Heavenly Springs, greeted her newest customers with a beaming smile and open arms. "Good day shinobi! This must be your first time visiting us yes?" she didn't wait for any confirmation; the two gentlemen were looking around with vigour, their heads never still. '_Obviously very interested in the baths_,' she mused to herself. "Come with me, come with me. Your patronage is warmly appreciated! I'll have you relaxed in no time at all, no time at all!"

She ushered them to the next room, waving away their protests. They must believe that such an esteemed woman such as herself would not stoop so low as to personally see to them. How wrong they were!

She was completely oblivious to their attempts at explaining their purpose and in, as she correctly put it, no time at all Kakashi and Gai found themselves soaking in warm water with towels on their heads.

"Do you get the feeling she didn't hear a word we said?" Kakashi asked.

"Yep."

Gai peered round. The baths were spacious; accommodating both men and women. It was difficult to determine where Sarutobi was in all the steam, or even if he was there at all. He turned to Kakashi, "I think we'll need to... hey, Kakashi? KAKASHI!"

His masked partner was staring dreamy eyed at a pair of particularly beautiful women not far away, a spot of blood where his nostrils were. Gai whacked him over the head to snap him out of it. Coughing and spluttering where he'd faceplanted the water, Kakashi snapped back to attention.

"Yes! Sorry."

"Don't go getting distracted now, this is a VERY IMPORTANT MISSION!"

"Yes I know..."

"You need to be FULL OF YOUTHFUL ENERGY and ...hey don't leave in the middle of my youth speech!"

The two friends waded deeper into the water, past giggling girls and men who-were-most-definitely-not-peeking, under the watchful eye of the springs owner.

"We need to leave before that dreadful woman catches us again," Kakashi whispered over his shoulder.

"Right. We'll do a quick sweep of this place and get out of here."

"Right."

But within minutes they were drawn by a loud, familiar booming laugh. Sloshing through the water, they rounded a rock and came face to face with the third Hokage. And about twenty women. Twenty breathtakingly hot women.

"How does he do it?" Gai mused, before casting a withering look at Kakashi, who was lost in his fantasies again. "Oh for the love of youth..." He pushed his way through the mass of skin, leaving surprised 'oh!'s and irritated 'hey!'s in his wake. It took every ounce of his self control not to turn into the giggling idiot Kakashi had become. Why don't they teach you important stuff like this at the academy?

Eventually, he made it to the Hokage, breathless and sweating profusely. A blond babe eyed him with a predatory satisfaction, edging her way closer. He kept a careful watch out of the corner of his eye. '_No distractions, no distractions, no distractions,' _he repeated to himself. He turned his head to see Kakashi disappearing under a wave of women; there would be no help from there. The Hokage was talking amiably to the women under each arm, his life story no doubt, and they listened attentively, playing with his pointed beard.

Gai realised with a sinking sensation that it would take a great deal of effort to drag Sarutobi out of the hot springs.

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_RAGE_... "the chakra"... _PAIN_ ... "I can't control it"... _FURY_... "what is this?"... _RAGE ..._"these aren't my emotions" ..._RAGE_... "help me" ..._RAGE_... "HELP me! Somebody? Anybody!" ..._RAGE_... "Kyuubi!"... _RAGE.

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With the Sakura girl secure on Gaara's back (everyone else was too small and they couldn't leave the silly idiot lying on the forest floor where anyone could step on her... as much as they'd like to) the trio padded silently through the trees, careful not to attract Danzo's notice. It was evident that the insane man was controlling Naruto somehow. There was nothing they could do about Naruto himself, not even Shukaku believed he could take him on, but if they could take out Danzo...

It was a hopeless plan even as he thought it out and Kyuubi was not one to take needless risks if he could help it. It would be better just to turn tail and hide somewhere. Yes. That would be for the best. There was nothing they could do.

He frowned (which, in his little fox body, was an incredibly cute frown). But this was _personal_. That was HIS body over there, hurling itself into the stone wall around Konoha. That was HIS chakra burning down all vegetation in a thirty foot radius. And it wasn't HIM doing it all. Now that was something he just wouldn't stand for. Not in the slightest.

Suddenly Mr Muggles stopped dead, fur bristling as though he'd had some kind of electric shock and hissed at a bush. Kyuubi narrowed his eyes in a patronising way, '_why has everyone gone mad lately_?' He trotted over to the cat, who looked somewhat more like a ball of fluff. How it managed to keep its white fur so clean was an absolute mystery to Kyuubi, who personally enjoyed rolling in mud as much as the next animal. If the occasional village happened to be situated in the mud then so be it. He considered for a moment that perhaps his uncaring attitude had granted him a rather unfair reputation, but then, he really didn't care.

A scent caught his attention, as it had caught Mr Muggles'. A mix of blood and fur and something else. His hackles raised themselves of their own accord as he struggled to remember what the scent reminded him of. Gaara turned and joined them, looking bored.

A twig snapped and all eyes peered into the gloom behind the bush. A form limped forwards, dragging an uncooperative hindleg, until she finally emerged into the light to reveal herself and her sorry state.

Nibi was a complete mess.

Blood drenched most of her fur and mixed with the tears that ran freely down her face. Her left ear was missing and she held her left paw to her chest protectively, most likely broken. Three deep gashes marred her back and sliced through her right hindleg, which dragged on the floor, collecting twigs and leaves and dirt. One of her two tails was now also considerably shorter than the other. She whimpered once before collapsing in a heap at their feet.

Without a moment hesitation, Mr Muggles was at her side, nuzzling at her and meoowphing in a pitiful way. Kyuubi was struck with indecision. He didn't know what to do; Nibi was his nemesis but then, she was the same as he, a tailed demon. Surely they were both against Danzo and his evil schemes? And what was that age old saying... my enemy's enemy is my friend? Regardless of that, she had come to them for help; that much was obvious. Even if she hasn't realised who they were. There was no honour in defeating an already defeated foe.

His mind finally made up, he approached the unconscious cat demon cautiously and proceeded to lick the salty blood and tears from her cheeks and muzzle. It tasted gross.

Gaara remained where he was, shifting Sakura into a more comfortably position. "Shukaku says to just leave her," he said.

"**We need all the help we can get."**

"She's useless, just look at her."

"**She'll be fine after we clean her up a bit."**

"You've gone soft fox."

Kyuubi turned slowly to fix him with a deadly glare, all the more effective with the blood staining his chin. Gaara remained expressionless, though a small muscle began to twitch and he went a little paler.

"**We take her with us. Understood?"**

Gaara nodded quickly. "But I can't carry both..."

Kyuubi thought quickly. **"You won't have to."** He grinned wickedly.

A few minutes later Sakura regained consciousness with an ear-splitting screech. "WHAT THE...!" She sat up in the freezing cold stream, water dripping from her hair and clothes. "HOW DARE YOU!" her gaze fell on Gaara and she assailed him with all the horror of an angry teenage girl.

Kyuubi watched with amusement as the pink haired girl battered him with both her fists until she ran out of things to yell. Breathing heavily she turned to spot the fox himself lurking by the tree roots. He granted her his most winning grin.

"YOU!" she screeched again, building up for another onslaught.

Kyuubi thought it best to cut her off before it got to the hitting stage. "**Yes yes yes**," he waved a paw in a belittling way, "**I'm sure you have much you want to say to me, but there are far more pressing issues at hand that must be dealt with**." The earth shook as Naruto let out a bone chilling roar in the distance. "**First and foremost being that**." Sakura let out all the air she'd been holding in one go with an amusing sound, not unlike breaking wind. He coughed politely, then turned to lead the way back to the felines without another word.


End file.
